Stargate Disclosure
by smfah1113
Summary: My first attempt at writing a Stargate fanfic. It's a mixing of SG-1, Atlantis, and Universe that takes place after Destiny has jumped the gap between galaxies after season 2 of Universe. Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

***Disclaimer*** I an not affiliated in any way with Stargate or MGM.

Chapter 1

Tensions at the SGC were high. The majority of the facility had been destroyed or badly damaged. The Stargate wasn't operational, and communication to the _Odyssey_ wasn't working. Teal'c and Daniel were crawling their way to the surface, and Sam was trying to get the gate working again. No one had seen Landry who was briefing Vala on her upcoming seminar on kleptomania when the beam hit. Sam began to wonder if anyone had seen the beam that hit the top of the mountain. Surely they wouldn't be able to cover this one up.

"Great," she thought, "we'll have to go public now." She pushed this thought to the side and continued to run gate diagnostics.

"This doesn't make any sense!" she shouted, "The gate should be connecting…"

Meanwhile in orbit:

"How the hell are there still Ori ships in our galaxy?" Colonel Anderson yelled. The _Odyssey _was taking heavy damage, and General Davidson had been killed. The _Odyssey_ along with the _Apollo_, the _Daedalus_, and the _George Hammond_ were all attempting to destroy the Ori ship before they could get another shot at Earth. The Ori ship was more maneuverable than usual, and the shields had been upgraded to partially block the Asgard beams. The Ori attempted to fire again, but before it could, the _Hammond _fired a shot that cut straight through the Ori shields. The ship was split in half.

"Send a team over there," said Anderson when he was told life support was still functioning in part of the ship. Ten minutes later, four F-302's left the hangar bay and flew off toward the wreckage of the Ori ship. Anderson sat on his chair and anxiously awaited the report from the team on the Ori ship.

"Colonel," said the familiar voice of Cam Mitchell, "The Ori didn't send this ship." Anderson relaxed a little. "It was the Lucian Alliance," said Mitchell.

"How did they get their hands on an Ori ship?" asked Anderson.

"I'm not sure, but it looks like some of them are still alive," said Mitchell.

Back at the SGC:

"Hey Teal'c. Is it just me, or does that look like sunlight?" asked Daniel.

"Indeed," Teal'c replied.

When Teal'c and Daniel reached the surface, they heard a familiar voice.

"Well it's about time!" Vala said.

"Vala? How…." asked Daniel.

"Well…. you see, I had just finished my meeting with General Landry, and I had the strangest urge to go outside, so I climbed up the escape hatch, and walked around up here for awhile, and then, as I was about to head back, an Ori laser beam shot out of the sky and hit the top of the mountain," said Vala.

"Ori…! How were you not killed when the beam hit?" asked Daniel.

"Oh… right… I forgot that part. I 'borrowed' this from you lab Daniel," she said as she pulled out an Ancient shield device.

"Have you seen General Landry?" Teal'c asked.

"I'm afraid not," said Vala, "Last time I saw him, he was in his office. Well I better be off now… ta ta." She waved as an Asgard beam activated.

"Vala!" yelled Daniel. Then, the familiar sensation of being beamed up surrounded him and Teal'c, and in an instant, they were on board the _Odyssey_.

"Long time no see," said Cam as the beam disengaged.

"You didn't think I'd leave you there Daniel?" said Vala.

"What is the meaning of this Colonel Mitchell?" Teal'c asked.

"The Lucian alliance hijacked an Ori mother ship, and they brought here. We have one of the crew members in the infirmary," Cam said. "Oh… one more thing. The beam was caught on tape, and the President is being pressured to go public with the Stargate Program. Is the Gate working?"

"No," replied Daniel, "Why do you ask?"

"We need to dial Atlantis. The expedition team is being recalled along with the city," Mitchell said.

"Why?" asked Daniel.

"The SGC is being moved there, so if and when the President goes public with the Stargate Program, the SGC will be in a safe place," Cam said.

"What about Colonel Carter and General Landry?" Teal'c asked, "Can you not lock onto their sub-dermal transponders?"

"Unfortunately we can't," said Cam, "But the _Apollo _and the _Hammond_ are going to stay here while we go to Atlantis."

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't it take three weeks to get to Atlantis?" Vala asked.

Anderson interrupted, "Each of our ships has been equipped with a fully charged ZPM. Major, set a course for Atlantis and engage the hyperdrive."

Four days later on Atlantis:

"John, I am telling you, I can sense a Wraith somewhere on Atlantis," said Teyla as she sat in the Colonel's office.

"Teyla, we've scanned the city three times," John replied.

"There is a Wraith on Atlantis. I am sure of it," Teyla said angrily as she stormed out of Sheppard's office. Rodney and Jennifer were in the mess hall when something caught Rodney's attention.

"Is that… the _Odyssey_?" he asked.

"Looks like it," said Jennifer, "But you know I can't tell the difference between all those ships."

"How did they get here so fast?" Rodney asked, "Surely if those dimwits at the SGC had come up with a new hyperdrive, they would've needed my help!"

"Rodney!" Jennifer scolded.

"Right… modesty… sorry," he said, blushing. Just then, Ronon came bursting in.

"Hey, has anyone seen Tey…Whoa…" he said as the _Odyssey _and the _Daedalus_ landed on the city.

"No I haven't… Why? Is she missing?" Rodney stammered.

"Yeah. She is. Last time anyone saw her, she was leaving Sheppard's office," Ronon said in his usual tone.

Somewhere in the East pier:

"I am going to find that Wraith," Teyla said to herself as she walked briskly down the dark hallway. Above her, she heard the _Odyssey_ touching down.

"They cannot be here already can they?" she asked herself. The feeling of the Wraith presence was growing stronger. She knew she was close. She pulled out her sidearm, and she turned a corner she saw the Wraith. He was barely alive, and he was limping away.

"Stop!" she yelled. Excited to see a new food source, the Wraith began to run as best it could toward Teyla. She fired her gun several times before the beast collapsed in front of her. She was about to turn around when a hand grabbed her shoulder. She whirled around preparing to shoot another Wraith, but she lowered her gun when she realized it was John.

"Well, I guess I was wrong about that Wraith," he said.

"Yes you were John," she said, trying to suppress her laughter.

"How's Torren?" John asked as they began to walk back to the Control Tower.

"As well as can be expected," Teyla said, "Growing up without a father is difficult for him and for me, and I do not know if I am ready for a new husband."

"Teyla," John said as he stopped walking, "You are an excellent mother, and if you ever decide to get married again, I'm sure you'll find the right guy." Teyla smiled, and they continued walking.

In the Control Room:

"What! That's ridiculous! You want us to move the city _again!_ We just barely had enough power to get from Earth back here. And unless you can magically make three ZPM's, this city isn't going anywhere," said Rodney to Colonel Anderson.

"Calm down Rodney," Jennifer said.

"What's going on up here?" Sheppard asked as he and Teyla stepped out of the Transporter.

"They want us to move the city back to Earth!" Rodney said.

"So?" said Sheppard.

"Well in case you haven't noticed, we don't exactly have any charged Zed-PM's lying around," Rodney said.

"Well each ship has a fully charged ZPM, and Atlantis has one. Does that help?" asked Anderson. He said something into his radio, and an instant later, two glowing ZPM's appeared. Rodney took them down to the power room, and they plugged them in. The city hummed and buzzed with power that it hadn't had for 10,000 years. John went to the Chair Room and sat down. He raised the city's shield, and lifted it off the surface of the ocean. As the city cleared the atmosphere of New Lantea, John engaged the interstellar hyperdrive…

Back at the SGC:

"I don't understand!" Sam said, "The Gate should be working now." Just then, an Asgard beam locked onto her and Walter and beamed them onto the _Apollo_.

"That's the last of them sir," said the crewman working at the transporter station.

"What about Landry?" Colonel Black asked.

"We can't locate him," the crewman responded gravely.

"Landry's…dead?" Sam stuttered.

"We're not sure, but once Atlantis gets here, we should be able to find him if he's alive," said Black.

"Atlantis... What's going on?" Sam asked.

"The Lucian Alliance hijacked an Ori ship, and they attacked Earth. Atlantis is being recalled to serve as a new Stargate Command. The President is being pressured to go public with the Stargate Program," Black responded.

"I didn't know there were any Ori ships left," Sam said.

"We didn't either," said Black, "But we have to be prepared in case the Lucian Alliance has more than one."

Back on Atlantis:

The city had just crossed into the Milky Way, and its hyperdrive disengaged. Before John could reengage the hyperdrive, four Ori ships dropped out of hyperspace. He could see them in his mind, and he activated the Drones. Outside the city, thousands of points of lights flooded from the city's depths. They impacted the Ori shields, but they did not do very much damage.

"Sheppard to Control Room. Rodney… The Drones aren't working," said Sheppard over his radio.

"I noticed," responded Rodney, "Try the beam weapons."

"Atlantis has beam weapons?" Sheppard asked.

"Well duh," said Rodney.

"Then why haven't we…" Sheppard was cut off.

"Have we ever had three fully charged Zed-PM's before?" said Rodney sarcastically. By this time, the _Daedalus_ and the _Odyssey _had joined the fight. It took a combined hit from both of them to destroy one Ori ship. In the Chair Room, John was still struggling to activate the beam weapons. Then, he felt a surge of power flow through him, and the beam weapons fired at the remaining Ori ships. Their shields were quickly overwhelmed, and the beams cut right through them.

"That was cool," said John.

"Rodney to Sheppard," said Rodney into his radio, "You can reengage the hyperdrive now."

"I'm getting to it Rodney," Sheppard responded. He powered up the engines, and the city was propelled into hyperspace. After about another week they reached Earth. John sprinted to the Chair room, and the city dropped out of hyperspace.

They received a transmission from Colonel Carter who had returned to her command on the _Hammond_. "Welcome home Atlantis. I wish it was under better circumstances."

"It's good to be back," said Rodney from the control room. "Has the President made a decision yet?"

"Yeah," said Sam. "He's going public with the Stargate Program. You've been instructed to land in the Pacific Ocean 300 miles west of San Francisco. We'll follow you down. Oh… and don't forget to cloak the city, Rodney." Sam winked and the transmission ended.

"Did you get that Sheppard?" Rodney said into his radio.

"Yep," said John. "I'll try to bring it down smoothly this time." He sat back in the chair, and he focused his thoughts on landing the city. After a few tense minutes of reentry, the city found water. Four flaming streaks shot down out of the sky following the Lost City. The four starships landed on Atlantis, and John converted the shield to a cloak. He ran back to the control room where he met Colonel Carter.

"Are you ready?" she asked.

"For what?" John responded.

"We're going to Colorado to search the remains of the SGC, and you're the best at flying Jumpers," Sam said.

Sam, Daniel, Vala, Jennifer and John took one Jumper, and Teal'c, Cam, Rodney, and Ronon took another. The two cloaked jumpers silently flew over the Pacific Ocean. They could just barely see the glimmer of San Francisco in the distance. As they approached the shore, they increased their altitude, so they wouldn't cause any odd wind patterns as they passed over the city. After leaving California, they passed over the desert in Nevada and Utah. When they reached the Rockies, it was nearly dawn. They didn't have much time. The President was going to make his "announcement" at 11:00. The two jumpers landed on the obliterated top of Cheyenne Mountain.

"I'm reading two life signs," said Rodney pulling out his scanner. "And one of them is right over here." Rodney walked over to a large piece of rubble, and he tried to pick it up by himself. "Does anyone want to give me a hand with this?" Teal'c walked over, and easily picked up the piece of rubble. "I must've gotten it loose for you," Rodney said.

Sam walked over to the hole in the ground. "Siler… Is that you?" she asked.

"Yes ma'am," said Siler from the bottom of the escape shaft.

"Is General Landry with you?" Sam asked.

"No ma'am," said Siler. "He was in his office just before the room collapsed. I don't know what happened to him after that ma'am."

"Alright," said Sam. "We'll send someone down to get you."

"Rodney…Where's the other life sign?" asked John.

"I'm having trouble isolating it…It's very weak," Rodney responded. "I think it's somewhere over here." He wandered off toward another large piece of rubble. "I think I found him! Maybe if we fire a Drone at this rubble, we ought to be able to crawl down into the office." John reluctantly climbed into one of the Jumpers. Everyone stepped back, and a yellow light fired from the Jumper. The rubble exploded into a million tiny fragments.

"Well it's about time!" General Landry yelled from his office. "I barely have enough water for another day. What took you so long?"

"I wish we had time to chat, but you need to get to the infirmary," said Carter as she helped Landry out of his office. "Odyssey, this is Carter, do you have a lock on Landry?" Carter said into her radio.

"Yes we do," replied Colonel Anderson. "We'll beam him, Doctor Keller, and Siler straight to the Atlantis infirmary." A beam of light surrounded Siler, Jennifer and Landry, and they were whisked away.

Carter looked at her watch and noticed the time, "Everyone into the Jumpers," she ordered. "It's almost 9, and we're supposed to meet General O'Neil in fifteen minutes." Everyone climbed back into their Jumpers, and the two ships sped off for Washington D.C. The sun was rising now, and they had fifteen minutes to cover two thousand miles. Getting the Jumpers to travel 8,000 MPH in the atmosphere was difficult, but they managed to land on the White House lawn at precisely 9:15. The Jumpers decloaked making President Miller jump a little.

"Don't worry. They're the good guys," said Jack as the hatches of the Jumpers opened. "Welcome to the White House," Jack said. "Mr. President…."

"I've called the nine of you here today because, as you know, I will be announcing the existence of the Stargate Program. I need the nine of you to explain the program and its benefit to mankind. We need to convince the people of this country…hell…this whole planet that the Stargate Program is devoted to the safety of Earth. If the people aren't convinced it could be World War 3… No pressure," said Miller.

At precisely 11:00, every single news station world-wide was broadcasting the President's speech…


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"Where did the Lucian Alliance get an Ori ship? I thought they all went back to wherever the hell they came from," Cam said, sounding slightly frustrated. "And I didn't think an ordinary person could fly one of those things."

"We've overridden ATA only controls before. It's reasonable to assume the Alliance was able to bypass the Prior only control system," Anderson said, staring out at the oddly tilted Ori warship.

"How's it going over there Sheppard?" Cam asked.

"This place is a mess. It looks like it was in pretty bad shape when the Alliance took it. There are obvious signs of struggle," Cam said into his radio. The lights on the Ori ship flickered ominously. There were Alliance crates everywhere. It looked like the ship was newly obtained. Sheppard went to the bridge where he found that several modifications had been made to the Prior interface system. He noticed a pad on the floor. It activated at his touch.

"We have just succeeded in commandeering the Ori ships. With the Priors gone, it was easier than we expected," a Lucian Alliance Second said. "All…"

John was distracted by Cam. "We've detected an energy spike on the ship. Get off now!"

"Time to leave boys!" John said, grabbing the rest of the search party. They dashed toward their 302's in the fighter bay. John heard an explosion somewhere deep within the ship. He jumped into his 302 and took off. His fighter barely cleared the outer hull of the ship before it exploded. "That was close," he said to himself, flying away from the hot cloud of debris.

It had been three weeks since the President had given is speech. The United Nations had backed the Stargate Program, but many individuals across the world were very concerned about the presence of "aliens" on Earth. The newly promoted General Carter had been reinstated as the commander of Atlantis which served as the new location for the SGC. Its location still remained a secret. Cam and John merged their teams to form the new SG-1. Teyla decided to stay on Atlantis for most of the missions to take care of her son. For the time being, Teal'c had returned to Chu'lak, the new home of the Jaffa High Council, in order to propose an alliance with the Tok'ra. The President was, of course, being pressured to put a civilian in charge of the SGC, but he was quite adamant, "The SGC has been run by the military for almost 15 years. Civilian doctors, scientists, and researchers have been placed in the Stargate Program. However, the primary staff will remain military. The galaxy is still full of surprises, and we don't want to put civilian SG teams at risk of being caught defenseless. We will also continue to post civilians at the Alpha site and on starships." After the President finished speaking, he was quickly rushed off the stage and back into his car. Reporters and civilians chased after him trying to ask questions, but his guards managed to keep them back. His car sped off toward the White House through the crowded Washington streets, when suddenly, gun shots were heard. The President could hear them getting closer and closer to his car. He ducked and one of his guards stuck his head out of the window, and he began to fire a Zat gun at the people shooting at the car. The guard was hit, and he fell back through leaving the window wide open. A few lucky shots and the President went limp. The driver and the President's remaining guards were also hit. The car hit a curb, and it smashed into a building. The police quickly blocked off the building and the street for several miles.

Back on Atlantis:

"General Carter there's a call for you from Washington," said Walter as he ran into Sam's office.

"This is Carter," said Sam as she picked up the red phone on her desk.

"The President's been shot," said a police officer. "He's barely breathing. We need you to send Doctor Keller out here, so she can bring him back to the SGC."

"Shot? Why can't we just beam him to the SGC with one of the ships?" Sam asked.

"He's not stable enough to beam," said the officer.

"Alright, I'll send Jennifer out, but I don't know if she can make it in time," Sam said putting down the phone. She called Jennifer, a medical team, and a pilot to the Jumper Bay.

"The President's been shot," Sam said. "You need to get to Washington D.C. as fast as you possibly can, so we're going to beam you and the Jumper to Washington where you'll pick up the President and fly him back here. Good luck." They climbed into the Jumper and it was beamed up to the _Apollo_ and back down to Washington.

As soon as the hatch opened, Jennifer ran out to the President's car. He was barely breathing. "Rose!" yelled Jennifer.

"Yes Doctor?" said Rose Hansen.

"We need to get him back to the SGC, but he's not stable enough to move," said Jennifer. "Let's try to get him into the Jumper. We need a stretcher over here!" Jennifer's team brought over a stretcher, and she and Rose lifted the President onto it. They picked up the stretcher with some difficulty and carried it into the Jumper where they set it down on the floor. Just then, he began to convulse. Jennifer attempted to restrain him; then his body went limp again. She checked for breathing and a pulse. His heart was silent. She tried CPR, but she was unsuccessful. The President was dead.

Jennifer walked out of the Jumper, "There's nothing I can do," she said solemnly. Two of the Police officers carried the President's body away, and Jennifer and her team went back into the Jumper. They were about to take off when they heard gunshots near the hatch of the Jumper.

The attackers began blindly firing into the hold of the Jumper. Jennifer hid behind a bulkhead, and she listened as half of her medical team hit the floor. A few stray bullets hit the control console which send sparks flying. Jennifer was covering her head with her hands to avoid the burning sparks, and then everything went silent. She could only hear herself breathing until footsteps broke the uneasy silence. Jennifer put her hand over her mouth to keep her from screaming, and she picked up a Zat from the seat in front of her.

As she activated it, she heard a voice call out through the smoke, "I know you're in there!" Jennifer was holding her breath as she peeked around the corner of the bulkhead. All she could see was smoke. She aimed the Zat and began firing. She fired shot after shot occasionally hearing a body hit the floor. She kept firing until she realized that no one was firing back at her. She laughed at herself for a moment, and then she cautiously looked around the bulkhead. She could see the bodies of her medical team, and she noticed a few more bodies had joined them. Jennifer thought she was the last one alive, but as the smoke cleared, she was able to find another member of her team. It was Doctor Hansen. She was hiding in the cockpit. A piece of glass had cut her face. Jennifer bent down to try to treat Hansen, but she felt a gun being pressed onto her back…

Jennifer slowly turned around and put her hands up. "Cloak the ship," said the woman with the gun.

"I…I don't know how," responded Jennifer shakily.

"Do it! Or I'll kill your friend over there," the woman said as she pointed her gun at Hansen.

Jennifer slowly walked to the control console. "How did Rodney say this worked?" Jennifer thought to herself.

"Hurry up!" said the woman with the gun.

"Alright," Jennifer thought to herself as she sat down at the chair. "Since the systems are already initialized, I should be able to do this without the gene." Jennifer, of course, could not read Ancient, so she began pushing random buttons that looked familiar to the ones Rodney pushed when he cloaked the ship. "Ok, that should do it," she said.

"Is it invisible?" shouted the woman to someone outside.

"Yeah…" said a voice from outside.

"Well get inside!" said the woman. "Shut the hatch!" she yelled at Jennifer. Jennifer quickly pushed some buttons after the woman's accomplice stepped in.

"How do we fly this thing?" asked the woman's accomplice.

"Well," said Jennifer. "You need a…um… special gene. We call it ATA."

"Get me the gene!" said the woman sharply.

"I…I can't. I don't have any of the supplies…" Jennifer Stammered. "All I have is an emergency dose of something similar. It'll only work for an hour."

"Give it to me," said the woman. "Now!"

"It's not going to do you any good," said Jennifer. "What do you hope to accomplish in an hour?"

"We're going to attack Stargate Command," said the woman…

On Atlantis:

"Hey Rodney," said Sam, walking out of her office. "Can you look at these specs for a starship ZPM integration system?"

"What… you want to integrate Zed PM's into starships now?" Rodney asked in an annoyed tone. "Do I need to remind you that we can't make them?"

"Rodney…" Sam said. "Just look at them please."

"Alright… I will," he said. "Hey, when is Jennifer due back?"

"Not for another hour," Sam said.

"Ok…I'll…um…go check out the specs," Rodney said as he walked away.

"Off World Activation!" said Walter from the Gate Room. "It's Dr. Jackson."

"Lower the shield," said Sam. The shield around the Gate lowered, and just moments later, Daniel stepped through.

"Sam… you'll never believe what I just found!" Daniel said.

"Well, it can't be too shocking," said Sam.

"We know the Ancients seeded the Galaxy with Stargates right?" said Daniel.

"Yes?" asked Sam.

"And we're pretty sure they used ships, since the Stargates can't exactly fit through each other. I found a reference in a book on P5X-387 to a 'Field of Stargates' on a planet they called Gen'tara. That's the Goa'uld name. I think an Ancient ship carrying Stargates, a 'Seed Ship,' crashed there," Daniel said.

"The Seed Ships were launched over a million years ago," Sam said.

"It'll most likely be buried by now. The book I found the reference in was probably close to 7,000 years old. The ship must've crashed relatively recently," he said. "It was probably on its way back."

"I thought they all went on one way trips. We found that out from the _Destiny_ Expedition," Sam said.

"That's what makes this so interesting," Daniel said.

"Check the database," Sam said. "I want you to come up with a list of the most likely target planets."

Just then, the Control Tower shook as the city's shield was hit. "What the hell was that?" Daniel said. "I leave for three hours, and we're being attacked again?"

"Uh-oh," said Rodney from one of the stations, "That was a Drone hitting the shield. Thank God I de-cloaked the city to check the shield integrity, or we'd be dead!"

"Rodney!" yelled Sam, "Who the hell is attacking us with a Drone?"

"Um…." Rodney stammered. "Jumper One…but…I thought…"

On the Jumper:

"I'm taking us closer to the shield!" said the woman.

"What!" yelled Jennifer. "Are you crazy?"

"Yep," said the woman. "Why else would I do this?" she closed her eyes and focused on making the Jumper get closer to Atlantis. She fired a pair of Drones.

"Why are you doing this?" Jennifer asked.

"I'm making a statement! Now if you would kindly shut up! I'm trying to focus!" the woman yelled.

Rodney ran down to the chair room. He knew what he had to do. He sank down into the cold metal chair and focused his thoughts on the Jumper. "Just gotta hit the drive strut," he thought to himself. At the base of the Control Tower, a single point of golden light shot into the air. It followed the Jumper with uncanny precision until it impacted the drive strut just where Rodney had planned. The pilot of the Jumper lost control, and it crashed into the water, and it slowly sank.

He ran back up to the Control Room where he saw Jennifer standing there soaking wet.

"Oh my God! I thought….I thought…" Rodney stammered.

"Nope!" said Jennifer, and she ran over and kissed him.

"Rodney…" said Sam.

"Mmm… One sec," Rodney replied. "I'm busy." He smiled.

"Well…" said Daniel. "I'm going to go look for a gate address…"

"Good idea," said Sam.

"Oh, and by the way Daniel. Vala's looking for you," Sam said. She winked and walked back into her office. Time to write a report…


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"McKay! This is Sheppard. Get up!" said John into the radio.

"Mmmph…" said Rodney as he reached for his radio. "What?"

"We need you in the Control Room," said John. "We're submerging the city."

"What?" yelled Rodney.

"…Rodney…" said Jennifer from the other side of the bed. "Can you stop talking please?"

"Why didn't anyone tell me about this?" Rodney whispered into the radio.

"I'm telling you now," said Sheppard. "I thought you wouldn't like to wake up on the bottom of the ocean."

"Ok…" said Rodney. "I'm coming." Rodney climbed out of bed and got dressed. "You're lucky you have the day off," said Rodney to Jennifer as he left the room.

"Why are we submerging the city?" Rodney asked when he reached the Control Room.

"We're trying to prevent another attack," said Sam. "If we sink the city, the chances of someone being able to find us are slim, and the shield will be in constant use, so we wouldn't have to worry about converting the cloak into the shield."

"Well, in case you haven't noticed," said Rodney, "We only have three Zed-PM's."

"They should last us about 10,000 years," said Sam.

"Not with the city active and running, and certainly not if we plan to use the Stargate," Rodney responded.

"It's our best option until we can find more ZPM's," said John.

"More?" Rodney said. "Are you kidding? It was hard enough to find the three we have right now!"

"Daniel thinks he might be on to something," said Cam.

"He thinks he knows where an Ancient Seed Ship is," said Sam. "With any luck it will have a few ZPM's on board."

"And if it doesn't?" Rodney asked.

"Well… then we'll think of another plan," Sam said. "John… get down to the Chair Room."

"Yes ma'am," John said, and he ran off.

"Nice and steady," he said to himself as he sat down in the Chair.

"Are you ready down there?" said Sam over the radio.

"I think so," said John. The city began to sink slowly into the ocean. The shields were holding. Rodney carefully monitored the power consumption. When the city finally touched the bottom, everyone let out a sigh of relief.

"General Carter," said Walter. "There's a message for you from General O'Neil."

"In my office, Walter," said Sam.

"Yes ma'am."

"What does he want?" Sam said to herself as she walked to her office. "Hello?" she said as she picked up her phone.

"Carter!" said Jack's voice.

"General?" said Sam.

"You don't have to call me that anymore," he said.

"Why not sir?" Sam asked.

"I'm retired," said Jack.

"Permanently this time?" Sam asked skeptically.

"Yep," Jack said. "I still have to do the whole 'ceremony' thing, but I should be out there by the end of the week."

"You're going to live here on Atlantis?" Sam asked.

"Yeah…Is there something wrong with that Carter?" he asked.

"No…there's nothing wrong with that," she stammered a little.

"Who's going to be the head of Home World Command then?" she asked.

"Ol' Woolsey's taking that job," said Jack. "The IOA's been dissolved."

"Unscheduled Off World Activation!" Walter yelled.

"I gotta go!" said Sam. She hung up the phone before Jack had a chance to say anything.

"Receiving IDC. It's Teal'c," said Walter. The shield around the Gate lowered, and Teal'c stepped though the Event Horizon.

"Chu'lak has been attacked…"

Fifteen minutes later, Teal'c, Sam, and the rest of SG-1 reported to the briefing room.

"The Lucian Alliance has attacked Chu'lak using an Ori Mothership," Teal'c said.

"Why would the Alliance be interested in Chu'lak?" Cam asked.

"With the Goa'uld, Asgard, and Ori gone, the Alliance's only powerful enemies are the Free Jaffa and the Tau'ri," Teal'c responded.

"And now that both Earth and Chu'lak have been attacked, the Alliance now believes they are the most powerful force in the Galaxy," Teyla said.

"Indeed," Teal'c responded gravely.

"General?" Cam asked. "Permission to take SG-1 to Chu'lak to assess the damage."

"Granted," said Sam.

"Alright SG-1," Cam said. "We'll leave at 1030 hours."

Two hours later SG-1 was on Chu'lak, or what was left of it. A few stray Gliders and Al'kesh were flying toward the Stargate. None of the Ha'tak had survived the attack. The Council Chamber had been burned to the ground. One of the Al'kesh stopped above the Gate and Ringed down Halak, a former servant of Apophis.

"Brother," said Teal'c as Halak approached. "How many have survived?"

"Only those who are in these ships," Halak said. "The Lucian Alliance will pay for their crimes against the Jaffa!"

"Calm yourself brother," Teal'c said. "The Tau'ri have agreed to help us in our fight against the Alliance."  
>"They do not have the means to fight the Alliance!" Halak said.<p>

"On the contrary," Teal'c said. "They have powerful weapons and ships."

"Only four ships," Halak responded.

"We will stand a better chance with the help of the Tau'ri than without them," Teal'c said.

"You are most wise brother," Halak said. "Come with me, and I shall show you what the Alliance has done." He pressed a button on his wrist, and the Rings from the Al'kesh beamed him and SG-1 up. As the ship flew over the charred and smoking rubble, SG-1 couldn't help but stare out the window with their mouths wide open.  
>"That was our Council Chamber," Teal'c said as the Al'kesh flew over a large crater in the surface.<p>

"Wait a second…" John asked. "How the hell did the Lucian Alliance know what planet your Council Chamber was on?"

"Indeed…" Teal'c said. "No other attacks occurred before the Alliance came here. This is most intriguing."

"There must be a spy in our ranks," Halak said.

"Indeed."

"When I find out who, I shall…" Halak was interrupted by a horrifying explosion.

"What the hell…" Vala said, getting closer to the window.

"I've seen this before," Cam said. "Teal'c how stable is Chu'lak's core?"

"Unknown," Teal'c responded.

"This place is gonna go like Icarus! We've gotta get out of here!" Cam yelled. The pilot adjusted the controls, and the Al'kesh shot up into the sky. The rest of the Jaffa ships followed.

"Hold on tight everyone!" John yelled. The planet below them became increasingly unstable. The ships shot up through the atmosphere. Below them, glowing cracks formed in the planet's surface.

More and more cracks appeared on the surface until the planet finally exploded. The Al'kesh and one of the Cargo Ships made it into Hyperspace just in time.

Meanwhile on Earth:

Sam had gone to Area 51 to check on the progress on the next class of Starship. She had designed most of the ship herself. It was faster, stronger, and larger than anything they had built before. "Sam!" said Zelenka. "We weren't expecting you so soon. Please come this way." They entered a small building which housed an elevator. "We had to double the size of the construction facility to house this new ship."

"How close is it to completion?" Sam asked.

"For the most part it's finished," Zelenka said. "We just need to incorporate the Asgard systems. They are very tricky. It should be ready for field tests in another two weeks," he said proudly.

"There's one more thing I want you to add," Sam said, handing him the specs for the ZPM interface.

"This is a….a ZPM interface. Have you found more?" Zelenka asked hopefully.

"Unfortunately not. We only have three, for now," Sam said.

The elevator stopped. "Here we are," said Radek. "This is the _Atlas_!"

"It's…massive," said Sam.

"Do you want to see the inside?" Zelenka asked.

"Can we?" Sam asked.

"Absolutely!" Zelenka responded. "Right this way." They walked toward a maintenance entrance. The interior was certainly not what Sam expected. The halls were twice as wide as a Daedalus Class ship. All of the conduits and access panels had been hidden behind smooth walls. There were computer interfaces every couple of feet.

"This is amazing!" Sam said.

"We designed this ship for comfort and purpose," Zelenka said. "We're still working on putting the carpet in."

"Carpet?" Sam asked.

"Yes," Zelenka responded. "Like I said, comfort and purpose."

"Can we go to the bridge?" Sam asked.

"Sure," Radek responded. "We've incorporated the Ancient Transporter technology, so we can get places faster. A traditional elevator wouldn't work, and of course, walking is out of the question on a ship this size."

They stepped into a Transporter, and an instant later, they were on the bridge.

"Spacious," said Sam as she walked toward the massive view window at the front of the bridge. "Thank-you, Radek," she said, smiling. "I should probably get back to Atlantis now. Carter to…" she was cut off.

"There's one more thing we need to show you," Zelenka said. "It's a surprise. Come with me." They stepped back into the Transporter Zelenka pressed one of the glowing dots, and an instant later, they were in the F-302 bay. It was empty except for one ship that was certainly not an F-302. "May I introduce you to the X-400," Radek said proudly.

"400?" said Sam. "I didn't know there were any new prototypes."

"Well," said Radek, "It's not an official prototype yet. This is the only one we've made, and it hasn't been tested in the air yet. We're hoping it will be able to replace the F-302 by the end of the year, but we're still working out some problems."

"It's much sleeker than the 302's," said Sam as she approached the ship.

"We used some of the aerodynamic features of a Wraith Dart in it," Zelenka responded. "It is still mostly Goa'uld technology though. We're working on incorporating Drones into the weapons systems, but for now, they remain incompatible."

"Thank-you very much for showing me this, but I really should get back," Sam said. She walked back to the Transporter leaving. She turned around to say goodbye to Zelenka, but he was already gone. She pressed a dot on the screen, and then she was standing in the entrance hall of the ship. She walked out of the ship and toward the elevator. She stepped in, and the elevator slowly began to climb to the surface. When she reached the surface she called the _Apollo_. "Carter to _Apollo_, beam me up," she said. She waited, but nothing happened. "_Apollo, _this is General Carter, respond." Nothing. She tried calling every ship that was supposed to be in orbit, but none of them responded.

"Carter to Zelenka," she said.

"This is Zelenka," he responded.

"Something's wrong. None of the ships in orbit are responding," Sam said.

"That's very odd," Zelenka said.

"Is your radio down there working?" she asked.

"Yes…I think so," Radek responded.

"Alright…I'm coming back down," Sam said. She got back into the elevator and it sank back down to the _Atlas_. She walked inside and took the Transporter to the bridge where she found Zelenka.

"I don't understand it!" he said. "The radio is working, but it's like there's nothing up there."

"Are the sensors on line?" Sam asked.

"Yes, but you won't be able to get a clear reading of anything in orbit. We're too far underground," he said.

"Well…we'll have to fix that won't we," Sam said. "Can the ship fly?"

"Yes…but I wouldn't recommend it," Zelenka responded.

"All hands," Sam said into the comm. "Close all external hatches, and brace yourselves. We're taking off." Sam released the docking clamps, and the doors above the ship opened. After a little bit of shuddering, the ship lifted off its supports, and it slowly rose out of the ground.

"Radek," Sam said. "Get the Asgard Beam Weapons online just in case there's a surprise waiting for us up there."

"I might be able to get you one, but certainly not all eight," Zelenka responded.

"That'll have to do," Sam said. Zelenka ran off to the Asgard Computer Core, located in the back of the bridge. He began moving the stones around the console. The ship climbed higher and higher into the atmosphere. Zelenka was working as quickly as he could to get the weapons online.

"Sam," he said. "I've got one of the Beams online, I'll try to get at least one more working." He went back to work. The ship was now on the upper levels of the atmosphere. Zelenka managed to bring one more Beam online, but that was all he could do, the other six would not work. When the ship cleared the atmosphere, Sam could see flashes of light ahead. She pushed the sunlight engines to their maximum. As the _Atlas_ got closer to the flashes, Sam realized they were near the Moon. The _Atlas _continued on its course toward the battle. Sam saw the _Apollo, Daedalus, Odyssey, _and the _George Hammond_ fighting a dozen Ha'tak and an Ori Mother ship.

Sam flew the _Atlas_ in, and Radek began to fire. The Ha'tak shields had been enhanced to protect the ships against the Asgard Beams.

"_Odyssey,_ this is General Carter. Respond."

"General?" said Colonel Anderson. "Are you on board that ship?"

"Yeah," Sam said. "It's called the _Atlas_."

"Can it fight?"

"Of course." Radek continued firing. Squadrons of Gliders were launched from the Ha'tak. The Tau'ri launched their F-302's, and soon, there was a cloud of fighters between the two enemy fleets.

"Our shields are failing!" yelled Colonel Black from the _Apollo_. The Lucian Alliance slowly forced the Tau'ri ships closer and closer to Earth. Then, the Ori ship suddenly exploded. An Al'kesh and a Cargo ship decloaked, and approached the Tau'ri ships.

"General Carter, this is Sheppard please respond."  
>"John?" Sam said into her radio. "Why are you on an Al'kesh?"<p>

"That's a long story. We have six more Naquadah Bombs in here. We're ringing them over to the Alliance ships now," John said. A few moments later, there were six brilliant flashes. The remaining Ha'tak collected their remaining gliders, and they jumped into Hyperspace.

"Radek," Sam said. "Take the ship back to Area 51."

"Will do," Zelenka responded.

"_Apollo_, this is Carter," she said into the radio. "Beam me to Atlantis."

"Yes ma'am." An instant later she found herself in the Control Room. The sirens were blaring, and she soon found herself surrounded by people with guns.

"What the hell is going on here?" she said.

"There is a prisoner on the loose, General," Teal'c said.

"You mean one of the people who attacked Atlantis yesterday?" Sam asked.

"Indeed."

"How are things on Chu'lak?" Sam asked as she and Teal'c got into the Transporter.

"Not well. The planet was destroyed," he responded.

"What!" Sam said.

"The core was unstable," Teal'c said.

When they reached the East Pier, they were immediately confronted by Teyla, Daniel, and Rodney. Once they realized who it was, they put their weapons down.

"Daniel Jackson. Have you located the prisoner?" Teal'c asked.

"Not yet. We're having a hard time. Apparently her partner also escaped, so we can't be sure exactly where they are," Daniel said.

"We think they're looking for a critical system or a power generator to take out, so we have teams near the Zed-PM's and the Naquadah Generators," Rodney said.

"We have divided everyone up into teams of three or more," said Teyla. "You are most welcome to join us." The group walked off down the hallway until Rodney stopped suddenly. He was looking at his scanner. There were to blips moving quickly their way. They could hear the pair of woman arguing about which way to go. The women turned the corner to find themselves face to face with a Jaffa Staff Weapon. Teal'c calmly activated it. The two women dropped their guns, and put their hands up. Teyla approached them with handcuffs.

One of the women spat in Teyla's face. "Alien bitch!" she yelled. Teyla raised her eyebrow, and then punched the woman in the face. She spun around and kicked the other one into the wall.

"That was… relieving," Teyla said as she cuffed the two women. They walked them to the Transporter, and a few minutes later, the two women were safely locked up in the prison even the Wraith couldn't break out of.

"Um…I guess we don't really need to do anything else for now," Sam said as they left the holding area. "I'll see you all in an hour for a briefing?"

There was general nodding. The Transporter dropped them off near the Control Room, but Daniel couldn't even take a step out. Vala came rushing in, and she pushed him against the back wall. "Well Daniel," Vala said seductively. "Where do you want to go?" She tugged at the collar of her shirt.

"Back to the Control Room," Daniel said, trying to get away from Vala.

"Oh c'mon Daniel."

"Vala!" he said, hoping someone would hear him.

"We've got an hour to kill, and as you can see," she pointed to a window, "We can't go anywhere. I don't want to have sex in this hallway, but I will if I have to."  
>"We're not having sex at all," Daniel said.<p>

"Let's just go somewhere nice and cozy, get naked, and see what happens then," she said innocently. She backed him up to a door and swiped her hand over the panel. Daniel fell on his back, and Vala climbed on top of his pelvis. The door slid shut behind her.

"Daniel?" she said, adjusting her position. "Did Adria dismember you when you were a Prior?"

"What? No… Can we at least get off the floor?" Daniel asked…

One hour later:

"Well Daniel, I must say that was much more satisfying than the first time," Vala said. "Although you still need to work on your…" Daniel cut her off.

"We…um…better get going to the Briefing Room," he said.

"Ah yes… where did our clothes go?" she said, looking around the room.

After getting dressed, the pair walked to the Transporter when suddenly Vala stopped.

"Wait," she said.

"What?"

"We should go up separately. That way it won't look suspicious."

"You're worried about this looking suspicious?"

"Yes!" Vala said. "I have a reputation to uphold."

"Ha!" Daniel laughed. He grabbed her arm, and pulled her into the Transporter. An instant later, they were standing in the Control Room. They walked normally toward the Briefing Room where they sat down on opposite sides of the room.

Teal'c began. "As you all know, Chu'lak has been attacked by the Lucian Alliance. We have promised our aid to the Free Jaffa to help them to rebuild and to fight the Alliance."

"And how do you suggest we do that when we almost got our asses kicked by the Alliance a few hours ago?" Cam asked.

"We must use Earth's ships to seek out and destroy key Alliance strongholds," Teal'c said.

"Who's gonna defend Earth then?" Ronon asked.

"General Carter? Is Atlantis not capable of defending this world?" Teal'c asked.  
>"I guess it is," Sam replied. "But it can only defend a small part."<p>

"Wait a second!" said Rodney. "This might sound…"

"Yes it does sound crazy Rodney," Sheppard said.

"What if…we built a base on the Moon!" Rodney said.

"You're kidding right?" Ronon said.

"Hush," Rodney said.

"If we equipped it with an Asgard Beam, it might just work," Sam said.

"You don't think this is absolutely insane…ma'am?" Cam asked.

"I think Rodney might be on to something here," Sam said.

"Indeed." Suddenly, the doors to the Briefing Room opened.

"Miss me?" said Jack as he stepped in. Sam resisted the urge to run over and hug him.

"Sir…I mean Jack!" said Sam. "We weren't expecting you so soon!"

"Yeah…well I managed to sneak out a little early. Oh… I almost forgot! Look who else came along," he said, stepping aside. There stood General Landry, who had also retired.

"Please, join us," Sam said. "We were just talking about building a Moon Base."

"Yeah…" said Jack. "You mentioned something about that after you saved our asses from Ba'al didn't you?"

"Yes…I did, but this isn't exactly what I had in mind… Rodney?"

"What…oh right…sorry. I think we should be able to create a small facility on the Moon equipped with Asgard Shields and Beam weapons."

"We would have to place it correctly, but it should work," Sam said.

"Right…between the Moon Weapons Platform and Atlantis, we should be able to defend Earth against pretty much anything," Rodney said.

"How do you plan to build this structure?" Teyla asked.

"Well…" Rodney said. "We could build it like Midway."

"Wait…" Sam said. "You're suggesting we put a Stargate on the Moon? That's not possible."

"We can change a Stargate's address right?" Rodney asked.

"Yes…but… we can't put one in our own Solar System," Sam said.

"We should if it's a Milky Way Gate," Rodney said.

"We have a Pegasus Gate here, so it will override the Milky Way Gate," Sam said.

"Well…" Daniel chimed in. "We know the Ancients build Stargates before the Milky Way Gates, and they used more of a coordinate system. It could be possible to find two of those, and put one here on Earth, and the other on the Moon. The coordinates should be distinct enough that they can dial each other."

"Where do you think we could find two 'First Generation' Stargates?" Rodney asked.

"On an Ancient Seed Ship," Daniel responded. "I've narrowed down the list to three possible planets."

"What the hell are you people doing these days?" Jack asked. Sam shot him a dirty look and continued.

"Well…I'll take SG-1 to Daniel's planets," Sam said. "Rodney, you stay here and work on the design. John, take Ronon and Teyla in a Jumper."

"General Carter," Teal'c said. "I shall return to Chu'lak to inform the remaining Jaffa of our plan."

"Dial it up Walter!" Cam said as he walked out of the Briefing Room.

Jack stopped Sam on her way out. "What was that all about?" he asked her.

"Not now. We'll talk about…things later," she said. She have him a hug and a quick kiss on the cheek. No one seemed to notice. She ran out of the room toward the rest of SG-1. The Gate roared to life, and the "original" SG-1 stepped though the Gate. Shortly after them, John, Ronon, and Teyla followed in a Jumper.

"SG-1, this is Sheppard," John said into the radio. "We'll do a quick flyby to see if we can spot anything." The Jumper flew off.

"It's freezing here," Vala said.

"What exactly are we looking for Jackson?" Cam asked.

"A 'Field of Stargates,'" Daniel said.

"This place is completely barren!" Vala said. "What makes you think the Gates are here?"

"For some reason, the Seed Ship was on its way back from some distant Galaxy when it crashed on a world with a Stargate in our Galaxy," Daniel said. "There aren't many planets with Gates on the outer edges of our Galaxy. I also found three Gate symbols which helped me narrow the search down to this planet and two others."

"What makes you think it's on one of those three planets?" Vala asked.

"The place where I found the reference. It's about 500 light-years from each of these planets. This is the only side of our Galaxy with Stargates right on the edge, so I assumed it would be on one of these three planets," Daniel responded.

"SG-1, this is Sheppard."

"Go ahead Colonel," Sam said.

"There's nothing here," John said. "We're making or way back to the Gate."

"We'll dial the next address," Sam said.

"Sheppard out."

"Hopefully the next planet is warmer," Vala said.

"Indeed," Teal'c responded. SG-1 returned to the Stargate, and they dialed the next address. The Jumper arrived soon after. They flew through, and SG-1 followed close behind.

"Whoa…" Ronon said. In front of them there was a typical village, but beyond that there was a massive valley of ruins. They looked like the ruins of a large Ancient outpost.

"Hey Colonel," Sam said into the radio. "Can you give us a lift?"

"Sure thing," John said as he set the Jumper down in front of SG-1. They climbed in, and John flew the Jumper toward the valley. When they landed, Daniel was, of course, the first to get out. Right away he began examining the ruins.

"Daniel Jackson," Teal'c said. "Have you found anything useful?"

"No," Daniel replied. "None of these inscriptions make any sense. It's like they've been rearranged." An idea popped into his head, and he began to rotate sections of the column. Once the inscription made sense, a panel on the column opened. "What is this?" Daniel said as he pulled out some form of control pad out of the compartment.

"It appears to be a control pad," Teal'c said.

"Yeah, but for what?" Daniel asked. "It's obviously Ancient, but it's far older than Lantean technology." Daniel pressed a button, and the word "Transmitting" appeared on the screen. Nothing happened. "We're on the wrong planet," Daniel said to himself. "This is meant to activate something, but not something here."

"Hey guys!" Daniel said to the rest of the team. "I think what we're looking for is on the third planet."

"John," Sam said. "Let's go."  
>"Yes ma'am," John said. The team climbed back into the Jumper, and they flew back to the Stargate. When they arrived on the third planet, it was obvious where they needed to go. Near the Stargate there was a massive scar in the planet's surface. Just past that, there was the wreckage of an enormous ship. Scattered around it were dozens of Stargates. When the Jumper landed, Daniel pressed the button on the pad again, and a kino flew out of the wreckage. The screen on the control pad lit up, and a recorded message began playing.<p> 


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"Hello. My name is Drala. To whoever finds this, whenever you find this, I…we, have a very important message for you."  
>"Someone is coming!"<p>

"This is Asfrid. 'She' is an Asgard, but you probably know that. I'm Drala, and this is my sister Cassiopeia."

"They have found us!"

"Oh, I almost forgot, this is Lahar. He's a Furling in case you don't know. Anyway, Asfrid, you said something about getting us out of here?" The screen went black momentarily, then the recording resumed.

"Drala here. As you can see we're in the Gate Room on Atlantis. Do your thing Asfrid."

"Activating ZPM's. I am not sure if there is sufficient energy to dial the ninth chevron." The lights flickered, and the Gate shook as the eighth chevron locked. "Chevron nine will not engage."

"Hurry up! Before they find out we're in here!"

"Too late!" Cassiopeia was trying to keep the door into the Gate Room shut.

"Chevron seven locked!"

"Come help me Drala!"

"Chevron eight locked!" The Gate shook.

"I can't hold this door much longer!"

"Chevron nine….locked!" The Gate roared to life, and the group quickly dashed through followed by their kino.

"Is this the correct ship?"

"I think so, Lahar, but they all look the same."

"It should be the _Incertum_." The playback stopped, and the kino fell to the ground.

"That can't be it?" Vala asked.

Daniel carefully picked up the metallic ball. He noticed a crack on the side. "I think there's something inside here." He opened the kino, and saw a small stone fragment.

"What is it Daniel Jackson?" Teal'c asked.

"I'm not sure, but it looks like a piece of something." Just then, another kino flew out of the wreckage. The recording resumed.

"Drala again. Sorry these stupid recording devices only have so much memory. Anyway, this is the _Incertum_. We're traveling faster than light right now, but you probably already know how to do that. Right now we're headed for a neutron star. Cassiopeia thinks it will charge the engines enough to get us home." The screen went black again.

"Hello. I'm Cassiopeia. I hope my sister hasn't been boring you all to death. The ship's about to drop out of FTL. Our good friend Asfrid has plotted a course straight home. We won't need to stop and refuel if she did the math right. We're planning on making a direct FTL Jump from wherever we are now to the Milky Way."

"Give that back!"

"You had your turn Drala!"

"Fine, but I get the next one."

"By the way, we're on a Seed Ship. They were sent out tens of thousands of years ago to manufacture Stargates to plot a course for the Destiny Class ships. As I recall, there were three of them, _Destiny, Legacy,_ and _Endeavor_. They each were meant to explore part of the Universe, but by the time anyone sees this, they'll probably have all been destroyed or captured."

"Cassiopeia, the planet we intend to 'land' the ship on is inhabited."

"What? Asfrid, I thought you said it was 'suitable for crash landing.'"

"Yes… It appeared to be, but if the inhabitants were to get their hands on this ship… Or dare I say it…were the Goa'uld or the….Ori…"

"Don't say that word Asfrid. The Milky Way has been protected from the… Evil Ones. The Goa'uld have no real power in the Galaxy, as long as our Alliance stays strong, we will be able to watch over the ship." There was an explosion in the background, and Lahar swore in Furling.

"What was that?"

"It was an unsuccessful attempt to create a Recall Device."

"Keep trying. Well… I guess I should explain what we're doing. You see… we've been working for months on a plan to get this ship in the Milky Way, you know that part already. What you don't know is that we're attempting to make a Recall Device that will, of course, recall all of the ships we sent out into the Universe. Hopefully, there will be enough of them to return. We know that our race will not survive to see the day when the ships return, but at least now, that day will come. Drala is beginning to record descriptions of all the ship's vital systems."

"Cassiopeia, we have arrived at the star."

"Good, Asfrid, route as much power as you can to the shields." The ship dove into the star, and its energy collectors lowered into the glowing white plasma. The energy storage devices were glowing with stellar energy. The ship slowly pulled out of the star after its power reserved had been replenished.

"Set a course for the planet."  
>"Course set."<p>

"Engage the FTL drive." The ship hummed with power, and the ship jumped into FTL. The recording ended, and the kino opened. Daniel removed another stone fragment. He tried to connect it to the other, but it wouldn't fit in any of the openings.

"I think this is the Recall Device," he said.

"This? It's just two pieces Daniel," Vala said.

"There are probably more." Just then a third kino popped out of the rubble.

"How many are there?" Val asked. Before Daniel could respond, the recording began again.

"This is Drala again. I suppose you recognize me by now. And I suppose you also recognize these as well." She turned the kino toward dozens of Stargates. "These are the Stargates, but we've upgraded them since these were built. They operate on a coordinate system. There's no need for a dialing device, just one of these remotes." She held the remote she was using to control the kino in front of the camera. It looked just like the one Daniel found. "Anyway. The whole Gate spins when it dials. You're probably wondering why such an ancient model of Stargate would come in handy. Well…they can operate at very short distances. The shortest we've ever gone was between Terra and its moon." The recording ended. It was far shorter than the last two. The kino opened and Daniel removed the fragment.

"Did you hear that?" Daniel asked.

"Yeah," Sam said. "Rodney was right."

"Perhaps we should find a means of transporting these Stargates back to Atlantis," Teyla said.

"Think the _Daedalus _will hold these?" Cam asked.

"Yeah…" Daniel trailed off. "I think we should look through this wreckage more. There are more of these recording devices somewhere.

John flew the Jumper back to the Gate where he dialed Atlantis.  
>"Atlantis this is Sheppard."<p>

"Did you find anything?" Rodney asked into his radio.

"You could say that," John replied. "We have about a dozen or so Stargates here, and the wreckage of an Ancient ship."

"And you need to bring it here?" Rodney asked. "Where do you expect to put it?"

"I don't know," John said. "That's what your job is."

"Fine…" Rodney conceded. "I'll have _Daedalus, Apollo_, and _Odyssey_ come out there, but it'll be a day or so before they get there."

"Thanks Rodney. Oh…and while I'm thinking about it, can you send some rations and water through?" John asked.

"Sure. I'll have them ready by the end of the hour. Atlantis out," Rodney said, and the Gate disengaged.  
>"SG-1 this is Sheppard."<br>"Go ahead Colonel," Sam said.

"Rodney's sending three ships to pick up the wreckage. They won't be here for another day, so he's gonna send some rations and water through the Gate," John said. "I'll be back within the hour, General."

"Alright Colonel. Daniel thinks he's found the 'FTL Drive' Carter out." Another kino flew out of the wreckage. This time it was Asfrid talking.

"Sam," Daniel said. "I think you'll be interested in this. It's about the Long Range Communications device." Sam took the kino and the remote.

"This is Asfrid. I will now begin explaining the Long Range Communications Device. I will attempt to use simple terms, but the device is very complex." Asfrid walked toward the Device, and the kino followed him. Sam continued to watch.

"Daniel Jackson," Teal'c said. "I believe I have found the propulsion system. It appears to be undamaged."

"Smaller than I expected," Daniel said as he examined the FTL Drive.

Sam continued to watch the kino recording.  
>"We have removed the control crystals from the Communication Device, and stored them here." Asfrid lifted a metal sphere, larger than a kino, in front of the camera.<p>

"I will now show you how to properly sequence the crystals. Once complete, screen should light up." Asfrid showed the crystal sequencing process.

"Then, you must…" there was an explosion, and the recording stopped. The kino popped open revealing the fourth piece of the Recall Device.

"Daniel," Sam said. "I know how to get the Long Range Communication system running, but I need to find a metal ball a little larger than one of these recording devices."

"You mean this?" Vala asked holding up the sphere.

"Yeah. That's it," Sam said. Another kino flew out of the wreckage. Sam handed the remote to Daniel, and she started to work on the LRC.

The recording began again. It was Cassiopeia.

"Well, we've arrived at the planet. I'm calling it Gen'tara. Yes, I know it's a Goa'uld name, but that should deter anyone looking for Alterran technology. Lahar successfully created a Recall Device, but we will never know if it works. We're leaving that part up to you. If you are advanced enough to understand the concept at work in the Device, then you have earned our knowledge of the Universe."

"We are entering the atmosphere."  
>"Right. Well we better be going. You probably have already discovered that we have hidden pieces of the Recall Device in the recording devices. There are six of them. Three are a record of our journey, and the other three are descriptions of the vital technology on this ship." She stepped through the Stargate. She was followed by a kino.<p>

"We've built an outpost here. This was our original crash site, but there is a small camp of humans just over this ridge. That's all I have to say. Good luck!" The recording stopped for a moment and then resumed.

"This is Asfrid. The humans have found us. I do not know how they did so this quickly. The control device has been hidden, but this last message must make it." She dialed the Gate to the Seed Ship. She was hit in the back with an arrow, but before falling to the ground, she threw the kino toward the gate. It vanished through the event horizon, and the screen went black. The kino opened, and Daniel removed the fifth piece. A sixth kino did not emerge from the wreckage.

"Uh-oh," Daniel said to himself. He began piecing together the Recall Device. It was only missing one thing, a central crystal. "Hey Sam. Do you have an extra crystal?"

"I don't think so. I found a place for all of them in the Long Range Communication system. It's up and running," Sam said.

Daniel was turning the Recall Device in his hand when he saw a pattern. There was a group of Ancient words that curved around the center of the Device. "Infinity," he said to himself. He pressed the words in a certain order. Rerum, Sapientia, Vita, Tempus, Inviendo, Sensum, Congeria, Cogitatione. "infinita varietas combinationum in infinitum," Daniel said into the device. The sixth kino emerged from the wreckage. A recording began, this time in Ancient.

When the recording was finished, the kino opened, revealing a white crystal that fit into the hole. It showed two crossed lines with the words 'Infinite Variety in Infinite Combinations.' Daniel placed the crystal in the hole, and it began to glow. He walked over to the Long Range Communications system. "Domum," he said. The system activated, and it showed five ships on its screen, all in different locations in the Universe. _Fatis, Legati, Conatus, Spes,_ and _Primogentia…_

On the _Destiny_

What's going on Rush? Colonel Young asked.

"I'm not sure," he responded. "We've dropped out of FTL."

"Where are we?" Young asked.

"A star system. With a neutron star," Rush said.

"Are there any Command Ships out there?"

"Not that I can see. We have plenty of fuel. I wonder why _Destiny_ dropped out of FTL." Rush said. He looked at all the panels around the room. They all said one thing. 'Domum.'

The ship dove into the star and lowered its collectors. When it had replenished its fuel, it jumped back into FTL.

"What's going on?" Camile asked.

"We're not sure," Doctor Rush responded. "But I believe the ship has been summoned home."

"Lieutenant Scott and Chloe Armstrong, report to the Observation Deck," Young said into his radio.

Scott and Chloe were "busy" at when the Colonel called. Scott managed to quiet himself down to answer the radio. "Be right up sir," he said. Then he resumed. When they were finished, they quickly got dressed and ran to the Observation Deck.

"What's going on?" Chloe asked.

"We're going home," Rush responded.

"What?" Scott said.

"_Destiny_ has received a recall order from the Milky Way Galaxy. If we continue along our current course, we will reach Earth in less than a month," Rush said.

"That's great!" TJ said. "But why were we recalled?"

"I'm not sure, but I'm working on it," Rush said. "I think we should continue our repairs to the ship. I'll notify you when I find out more." Eli began sending out kinos to damaged areas of the ship. Camile was busy in the arboretum tending to the plants. With only a dozen or so people left on the _Destiny_, it was difficult to get things done, but they managed…

On Gen'tara:

"Daniel, look," Sam said. "These ships are all headed for Earth."

"Hey guys what did I miss?" John asked as he walked out of the Jumper.

It was nearly nightfall by the time SG-1 had finished tagging everything for transport. The ships wouldn't be there until the morning. There was a rustling in the bushes.

"Who's there?" Vala said. "Daniel!"

"What?" he said, walking over to her.

"I heard something move in those bushes," she said.

"We should probably go back to the Jumper and get some sleep," Daniel said.

"I didn't imagine it Daniel. There's something back there."

"C'mon Let's go." The bushes rustled again.

"See I told you I didn't imagine it!" Vala said.

"Who's there?" Daniel said pulling out a zat. A staff blast came from the bushes toward Daniel and Vala. Daniel began firing as he threw himself and Vala to the ground.

"Sam!" Daniel yelled. "We've got company. It's the Alliance!"

"What?" Sam said as she ran out of the Jumper and began firing. A group of Gliders flew over them. "We've got to get back to the Jumper!" Sam, Daniel, and Vala ran toward the Jumper. They continued to fire at the Alliance soldiers. Then, Vala was hit in the leg with a staff blast. She fell to the ground in a crumpled heap.

"Vala!" Daniel yelled as he spun around, ducking to avoid a staff blast. Fearing the worst he ran over to where she had fallen. There were more blasts, and the Gliders had begun firing. He had no time to see if she was alive. He picked her up. Tears filled his eyes as he ran toward the Jumper. He could barely see. There were flashes all around him. He could make out the blurry image of Sam. He continued to stumble toward the Jumper. When he got inside he collapsed on the floor embracing Vala. He was sobbing now. John cloaked the Jumper and flew off. Sam hadn't said a word. Before she sat down, she gave everyone a look that said 'don't say a word.'

The Puddle Jumper flew off into the night, undetected by the Lucian Alliance ships. John planned to land it near the wreckage and wait for the Alliance to leave.

"How the hell did they find us?" he asked.

"I have no idea," Cam responded. Teal'c walked into the cockpit, closing the hatch behind him.

"Teal'c, how's Vala," Cam asked.

"Not well. She was shot in the leg with a staff weapon."

Vala was barely breathing and her pulse was weak. Teyla had begun to treat her wound with an emergency medical kit. It wasn't much, but it would have to do. The Jumper approached the Stargate, John saw the Lucian Alliance soldiers dialing Earth. When the Gate opened, John sent a radio signal through. "Rodney, this is Sheppard. We've been attacked by the Lucian Alliance. Do not drop the shield!"

"Lucian Alliance?" Rodney said. "How did they find you so quickly?"

"I don't know. Vala's hurt. When the Gate shuts down, send Jennifer through in a Jumper," John said.

"Alright, I'll let her know. McKay out." Alliance soldiers were still flooding through the Gate unaware that the shield was still up. They thought they had sent the correct IDC. Rodney shut down the gate from the other end. The Alliance soldiers were shocked, then, the Gate began to dial. The soldiers stepped back as the Gate opened. Nothing happened.

"SG-1, this is Keller," Jennifer said as her cloaked Jumper flew through the Gate.

"Where are you?" John asked.

"Right above the Gate," Jennifer responded. The Alliance dialed the Gate again and resumed sending soldiers through. After fifteen minutes, they realized that their soldiers weren't getting through.

"Meet us by in the wreckage field," John said into his radio. "They won't be able to find us there." The two Jumpers landed in the wreckage. Daniel was still holding on to Vala's body. Jennifer came running into the Jumper. Daniel helped carry Vala back to Jennifer's ship.

"Do you guys want to come back too?" Jennifer asked.

"We shall remain here to ensure the safety of the wreckage," Teal'c responded. Jennifer shut the hatch of her Jumper, cloaked it, and left for the gate.

"SG-1, this is Keller, I need you to lay down some cover fire, so I can get through the Gate."  
>"Will do," John said. He converted the cloak into a shield and armed the Drones. The Alliance Gliders spotted him, but they were no match for the Jumper. John began firing at the Gliders and the soldiers on the ground giving Jennifer enough time to get through the Gate. Once she was through, John cloaked the Jumper and returned to the wreckage. They could hear shouting in the distance and the sound of Ring Transporters. They were unsure if the Alliance was leaving or Ringing down more soldiers. They waited through the night until they were sure the Alliance soldiers were gone.<p> 


	5. Chapter 5

***Disclaimer***

This is a warning for future chapters. There are several sexually oriented scenes. Nothing graphic of course; however, if you are offended by such material, please stop reading now.

Chapter 5

The sun of Gen'tara slowly peeked above the horizon shining through the wreckage of the Ancient ship. SG-1 anxiously awaited the arrival of the three ships. There was an eerie silence that hung over the landscape. In orbit, three Hyperspace Windows opened. Three Tau'ri vessels emerged. They were confronted by a small fleet of Lucian Alliance Ha'tak that had remained in orbit from the previous night. The Tau'ri began to fire their Rail Guns and Asgard Beam weapons. The Alliance returned fire. For a few tense minutes, the Alliance had the upper hand. Then, the Tau'ri destroyed one of the Alliance ships, evening the odds. The Lucian Alliance turned their attention from the Tau'ri to the surface of the planet. They began bombarding it. SG-1 ran for cover as balls of fire rained from the sky. The Tau'ri positioned themselves between the planet and the Alliance ships. In this position, they wouldn't last long. They began Beaming Up the tagged items from the Seed Ship wreck. SG-1 was in the Jumper ready to head back to Earth. Once the ships in orbit had finished, they jumped into Hyperspace. SG-1 flew through the Gate, and was safely back on Atlantis.

"How the hell did the Alliance find us again? It seems like everywhere we go, they're close behind," Sam said. "It's strange!"

"Indeed," Teal'c responded.

"There's gotta be a spy," Ronon said.

"That's absurd," Rodney said walking down the stairs. "A spy? Here?"

"How do you explain what happened then?" Ronon asked.

"I don't know," Rodney said. "Jennifer wants to see you. It's about Vala." SG-1 was worried as they followed Rodney to the infirmary. When they walked through the door they saw Daniel by one of the beds. In the bed was Vala. Daniel was crying over her. Jennifer walked up to them.

"I don't know what happened, but," Jennifer said pausing to collect her thoughts. "She lost her memory." She said.

"Oh my God," Sam said. She was speechless. The room fell silent. Sam approached Daniel. "Daniel?" she said.

"Go away!" he yelled back, still sobbing. "All of you! Get out!" Sam backed up.

"C'mon guys. We should probably go," Sam said. SG-1 left the infirmary. Jennifer followed, leaving Daniel and Vala alone.

Jennifer's eyes were filling with tears. "There's nothing I can do," she said. "There is a small chance that her memory will return with time, but I'm not sure." Rodney hugged her. She cried for a few minutes, and then she collected herself. "I…better get back in there." She walked back through the doors leaving SG-1 in the hall.

They walked back to the Transporter, and a moment later, they were back in the Control Room. Sam and Teyla were now crying. Even Ronon had a tear in his eyes. He hadn't realized how attached he had become to Vala in the last six months. It was difficult for him to face that she might be gone forever. Everyone slowly went about their business, but all of their thoughts were focused on Daniel and Vala.

"Sam?" Landry said, knocking on her door frame, which, oddly enough didn't have a door. "Can I come in?"

"Absolutely Gen…I mean Hank," Sam said managing a weak smile.

"I heard what happened to Vala," Landry said.

"Yeah…" Sam trailed off, fighting tears.

"Carter," Landry said. "She'll pull through this." He looked Sam straight in the eyes. She knew he was serious. He got up and left without another word. Sam felt a little better, but the weight of what had happened still pressed on her.

Daniel had Vala's hand in his as he continued to cry. Three years ago, he wouldn't have done this, but things had changed. What was it about her? What was so special about this woman? The warm tears rolled down his cheeks. His eyes were red and swollen. He couldn't remember how long he'd been there. He knew he would need to eat eventually, but he didn't want to leave her. Jennifer walked over to him. It was like she had read his mind. "Do you want me to get you something from the mess?" she asked. It seemed like she was the only person he'd listen to. He nodded. He remembered the first time she had lost her memory. It was different then. She was safe now.

Jennifer walked to the mess hall. Rodney tried to talk to her. She ignored him.

"Jennifer?" he said again.

"Rodney!" she yelled back, turning every head in the room. "I don't want to talk right now!" She continued getting her lunch for her Daniel and Vala. She left the room in silence. When she got back Daniel looked up at her.

"Thank you," he said.

The phone on Sam's desk ringed. "He…Hello?" she said.

"General Carter, this is Zelenka."

"Hi Radek," Sam said.

"I thought you would like to know, the _Atlas_ is complete," Zelenka said.

"That's great," Sam said, trying to sound excited. It was difficult. "When can it be deployed?"

"We need to get a crew for it. Most importantly we're missing a Commanding Officer," Radek responded. "We were wondering…"

"Absolutely not," Sam said.

"Alright…Nevermind," he said, sounding a little disappointed. "I'll have it sent to Atlantis as soon as possible."

"Sounds great," Sam didn't even try to sound excited. She hung up her phone. "Rodney, this is Carter," she said into her radio.

"We've got a ship coming in. We'll need to bring the city up to the surface, so it can land."

"Alright I'll be up in a sec," Rodney responded.

The desert floor in the Nevada desert shifted. Two massive doors built into the ground opened revealing the newest Tau'ri ship. It slowly lifted out of the ground. It began a slow ascent into Earth's atmosphere. It engaged its primary thrusters.

Atlantis slowly rose off of the bottom of the ocean. The city shook slightly as it ascended. Its shields breached the surface. The massive city settled on the surface of the water. Less than an hour later the _Atlas_ began its descent down to the city. When it landed, the city's shields extended around the ship.

Sam left her office and began walking to the _Atlas_. She really had no idea who would be able to command it. She knew there weren't many Colonels out there with the necessary training. There was John or Cam, but they were needed with SG-1 especially now. She could only think of two people. Colonel Gates and Colonel and Colonel Harrison. They were both recently promoted. As Captains, they were some of the first people involved in the F-302 program, and as Majors, they both served on the _Prometheus_, until it was destroyed. When she reached the ship, it Ringed her up. She was greeted by Radek.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Vala's was shot in the leg off world. She lost her memory," Sam responded gravely.

"That's not good," Radek said. "Have you given any thought to the CO yet?"

"Yeah," Sam said. "Colonel Gates or Colonel Harrison."

"Alright I'll assign one to this ship and the other to the next Atlas Class we build," Radek said.

"Thanks Radek," Sam said, smiling a little.

"How goes the plan to build a Moon Base?" he asked.

"Shit!" Sam said. She'd forgotten all about it. "Sorry Radek, I gotta go!" She left the ship and ran to the nearest Transporter. A moment later, she was back in the Control Room. "When are the _Daedalus, Odyssey, _and _Apollo_ due back?" she asked the nearest person.

"They should be here within the hour," someone said.

"Rodney this is Carter. Do not submerge the city!" she said into her radio.

"Alright," Rodney said. He could now finish his dinner.

Sam Anxiously awaited the arrival of the ships. She began to design a secondary Gate Room where they could put the first-gen Stargate. It wouldn't need access to the Jumper Bay because Jumpers were too big to fit through the Gates. It would have to be shielded, so the wormhole from the primary Gate couldn't jump to the secondary Gate. What can shield something from a wormhole? Nothing they knew of could do that. Sam continued. It would need to be large enough to house a Stargate. It also needed to be able to hold a significant amount of people and supplies for the Moon Base.

"Radek, this is Sam," she said into her radio.

"Yes?" Zelenka responded.

"Is there room anywhere in the city to put another Stargate?" Sam asked.

"Yes. I think so," Radek said.

"Really?" Sam said.

"I'd have to look on a map of the city, but I think so," Radek responded.

"Good," Sam said. "Do you want to come up now?"

"I'm already on my way," Zelenka responded. "Zelenka out."

Meanwhile in the infirmary Vala was awake.

"What's going on?" she said. "Who are you? Where am I?"

"Everything's alright. You're safe," Daniel managed.

"You're the one I talked to before," Vala said.

"Yes," Daniel replied. "Doctor, she's awake."

"Dammit!" Jennifer said from the other room. "The last dose should've kept her out for another three hours. I can't re-administer until then."

Daniel sighed. "Alright," he thought. "Where should I start?"

"You're name is Daniel right?" Vala said.

"Yes," he replied.

"What's my name?" she asked.

"Vala. Vala Mal Doran," Daniel responded.

"That's a strange name," she said. "What is this place?"

"You're in the infirmary on…" Daniel said, stopping before he could say Atlantis.

"On what?"

"Atlantis," Daniel responded. "It's a city."

"Why am I here?" she asked.

"You were shot in the leg on another planet," Daniel said.

"Another planet?" Vala said.

"Yes. You are part of a team of explorers that travels to other worlds in a device we call the Stargate," Daniel said.

"So what planet are we on now?" she asked.

"Earth," Daniel said. "Does that sound familiar to you?"

"A little, but I'm not really sure," she said. She began to drift back asleep.

She woke with a start, but she wasn't in the infirmary, in fact, she didn't even remember the infirmary. All of her memories were there. The last thing she remembered was being shot on Gen'tara. Doctor Keller treated her, and sent her on her way. To her, everything seemed fine. She got in a Transporter, and an instant later, she was in the Control Room. She entered the Briefing Room where she found the rest of SG-1 along with General Carter. Daniel gave her an interesting look as she sat down.

"We think we have a spy on Atlantis," Sam said. Everyone in the room was shocked. "Every time a team goes off world, the Lucian Alliance isn't far behind."

"Indeed," Teal'c said.

"What are we gonna do about it?" Cam asked.

"We're going to design a test," Sam said. "Random SG teams will be assembled without warning. They will be taken through the Gate to a random location in a Jumper. No one will have any knowledge of where or when they are being sent. When the person who is feeding information to the Alliance goes off world, we will know."

"And what if you're the spy General?" Ronon asked.

"I won't be dialing the Gate," Sam said.

"Who will?" Daniel asked.

"The Gate has been set to randomly dial thirteen uninhabited planets," Sam said. "So no one will be able to know where exactly they're going."

"Well when do we get started?" Vala asked.

"Right now," Sam said. "You are going to be the first group. Head to the Jumper Bay." The Gate began dialing. The DHD had been covered up, so no one would be able to see the address. The Gate activated, and SG-1's Jumper dropped into the Gate Room. Vala was sitting next to Daniel, and she felt his foot tapping hers.

"Well aren't you in a good mood today!" she whispered to him. There was that look again. The Jumper went through the Gate and emerged on the other side. Vala felt Daniel's hand on her leg. She wanted him to continue, but she made him stop. "Later," she said. He nodded. They both leaned forward to look out the window. The planet they were on was a frozen wasteland.

"General Carter told us to wait here for an hour," John said.

"An hour?" Rodney said. "Do we really need to wait that long?" John glared at him.

After an hour, no Lucian Alliance ships had attacked. SG-1 returned. SG-1 was instructed to remain only in certain areas of the city until the experiment was complete. Daniel and Vala wasted no time. They ran straight to his quarters, and took off their clothes.

"What's going on with you?" Vala asked as she got into bed.

"What do you mean?" Daniel said.

"Well…You seem much more interested," she said.

"I've always been interested," Daniel responded. He smiled…

A few hours later the experiment had been finished, but none of the teams had encountered any Alliance ships. Daniel and Vala were on their way back to the Briefing Room when Vala spotted something strange. There was someone she had never seen before. She knew new people came to Atlantis pretty much every day, but she knew something wasn't right about this man. She looked at him suspiciously. He noticed. He quickly ducked out of Vala's sight.

"Who was that?" Vala asked Daniel.

"Who?" Daniel responded.

"Never mind," Vala said. When they reached the Briefing Room, the man was there again. Vala pretended not to notice him. As soon as she sat down, she felt Daniel's hand moving up her leg again. She didn't stop him right away.

"We think we know who the spy is," Sam said. She paused. "Vala. We know you've been providing the Lucian Alliance with Gate Addresses."

"What? That's absurd!" Vala said standing up.

"Major Henderson has informed me that you have been using a Goa'uld Transmission Device to send a Gate Address after every mission briefing," Sam said. She gestured toward the man. He must've been Major Henderson, but Vala had no knowledge of him.

"And where is your proof?" Daniel said.

"Here," Major Henderson lifted up a Goa'uld Transmission Device. It began to play. It was Vala transmitting the three Addresses where SG-1 looked for the Seed Ship.

"I never did that!" Vala protested. "Do you honestly think I would give away the Addresses, and then let myself get shot? Do I seem like that kind of person to you?"

"She's right!" Daniel said. "We've gotta get out of here," he whispered into her ear. He grabbed her hand, and they bolted out of the Briefing Room.

"Stop them!" Major Henderson yelled, sounding a little frightened.

"Daniel what's going on?" Vala asked. They stopped for a moment, ducking into a lab.

"You're in the infirmary on Atlantis. You slipped into a coma a few seconds ago, and Jennifer is trying to help you. Hold on a little longer. Don't trust anyone!" Daniel said. His image flickered slightly, and the pair continued to run. They turned a corner, and there was Henderson.

"Who are you?" Vala asked.

"Come with me. Everything will be alright," he said calmly.

"No it won't!" Vala yelled. "Who are you?" He didn't answer. He raised a weapon. Daniel threw himself between Henderson and Vala. Henderson fired, hitting Daniel instead of Vala. She used the diversion to escape. She continued to run until she ran straight into Teal'c. He grabbed her. She tried to resist, but he was too strong. He carried her back to the Briefing Room. She was strapped to one of the tables. Someone injected her with a sedative, and she fell asleep. She woke up in the infirmary. She didn't know how she got there. She just remembered an off world mission and someone named Henderson. It was all a blur. She slowly sat up. Her vision was still a little hazy. She saw someone sitting next to her bed. She realized it was Daniel. He said something she couldn't understand. Someone else approached the bed. It looked like Dr. Keller.

"You're free to go," she said cheerfully.

"H…How did I get here?" Vala asked.

"We were in a briefing, and you tripped and hit your head on a railing," Daniel said.

"That would explain the headache," Vala said rubbing her forehead. Just then, a group of security officers burst through the door. Daniel and Jennifer pulled out weapons and began firing at them.

"What the hell is going on?" Vala asked.

"They're still after you! They think you're a spy," Daniel said.

"Carter wanted me to erase your memory," Jennifer said.

"I guess they must've realized you didn't," Daniel said. The last of the guards hit the floor. Daniel got up and pulled their bodies in.

"Are they dead?" Vala asked.

"Yeah," Daniel responded. He grabbed Vala's hand. She could hear someone crying. It sounded like Daniel, but when she looked at him he looked perfectly normal. "Keep fighting," he said.

"Carter's sent more soldiers!" Jennifer said. "We need to leave now!" Daniel helped Vala up, and then he gave her a gun.

"Wait a minute…" Vala said.

"What…What is it?" Daniel asked, sounding worried.

"I remember you getting shot," Vala said.

"What?"

"Yes…Major Henderson shot you!" Vala said.

"Who's Major Henderson?" Jennifer asked.

"Nobody shot me Vala," Daniel said. "We left the Briefing Room, you hit your head, and then Sam was convinced you were a spy for the Lucian Alliance." Vala was very confused.

"Why are we headed for the Jumper Bay?" Vala asked as they entered the Transporter. "Wouldn't she expect us to go there?"

"Sam thinks it is impossible to get in, so she doesn't have many guards posted there," Jennifer said. "We should be able to get past them."

"This is crazy!" Vala said. They began to fire at the guards. They fell one by one. Once they were all dead, Vala, Daniel, and Jennifer entered the Jumper Bay.

"You didn't really think you could get away so easily?" Sam said.

"Now let's just go back down to the infirmary," John said.

"Over my dead body!" Jennifer yelled. She and Daniel began firing.

"Vala! You've gotta get out of here now!" Daniel said. Vala ran for one of the Jumpers. When she entered, Major Henderson was standing inside the Jumper.

"Just come with me. Everything will be alright," he said.

"No!" Vala yelled. "You're lying! What are you gonna do to me this time? Huh? Kill me?" She pointed a gun at him.

"Just put the gun down Vala. I'm trying to help you," Henderson said.

"Why should I trust you?" she asked.

"Don't you remember me at all?" he asked. "Surely…"

"No I don't! I'm not falling for that one! I've never met you before. I have no idea who the hell you are, but I do know that you do not belong here!" she began to shoot him. He fell to the ground, and the scene dissolved around her. She woke up in the infirmary again. Daniel was next to her.

"Vala?" he said. His eyes were red with tears.

"Daniel!" she smiled. He hugged her.

"Jennifer, she's awake," he said.

"Wait…" Vala said. "Is Sam trying to kill me?"

"What?" Daniel asked. "Where did you get that idea?"

"Nevermind," she smiled.

After Jennifer let her leave the infirmary, she and Daniel walked to the mess hall together.

"Daniel?" Vala asked. "Why were you crying? I didn't think you cared about me that much."

"Vala," Daniel said, stopping and looking her in the eyes. "I will always care about you." He smiled and continued walking. He turned around when he realized Vala wasn't next to him. "What's wrong?" he asked approaching her.

"N…No one's ever told me they cared about me before," she said. "Well…no one's ever meant it before." Daniel put his arm around her, and they continued walking. They enjoyed dinner together, and then they went their separate ways. On his way back to his quarters, Daniel couldn't get her off his mind. He had worked with her for over five years now, and in that time, he never once thought about how she had changed his life. He was still stunned at how close he had come to losing her. It had been two days since she'd been shot. Had it really been that long? He was tired. When he got into his quarters he looked out to see the _Daedalus_ sitting on one of the piers.

"How long have they been here?" he said to himself. The city shook, and it slowly sank. It was more turbulent this time. "McKay must be asleep." He got into bed, but something didn't feel right. He was restless. He stared at his clock. The minutes slowly ticked by. The city was sinking, slower than usual. He got out of bed to get some water. The city shook. He spilled it on his pants. "Dammit. First thing in the morning…" He was cut off by the chime at his door. "Just a second!" Before he could do anything Vala came in, and looked straight to where he spilled the water. "Look Vala," Daniel said.

"No. I'm not here for sex," she said. "I…I couldn't sleep."

"That's funny," Daniel said. "Neither could I." Vala came in, and the door shut behind her.  
>"Great," Daniel thought. "I'll need a bigger bed now." He and Vala got in, and they both fell asleep right away…<p> 


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

On the _Destiny_:

It had been a week, since the ship received the Return Command. They were very close to the Milky Way now. There was one stop planned for a final refueling. The Galaxies were father apart than they used to be.

"Pegasus?" Eli asked.

"It's the Galaxy the Ancients went to after they left the Milky Way. You know, the home of Atlantis, and if I'm right, it should still be here," Rush responded.

"What the hell is going on now?" Scott asked as he walked into the Control Room.

"We've dropped out of FTL," Rush responded. He began broadcasting on the radio. "Atlantis this is Doctor Nicholas Rush on board the _Destiny_. Please respond." Silence. They probably weren't even in range of the city. They were in a normal star system with a G class star. They looked out the side windows and noticed two Seed Ships and two Destiny Class ships. Then, three Hyperspace Windows opened in front of them. It was the Wraith.

"Uh-oh," Eli said. "Are those?"

"Yes Eli. Those are Wraith ships," Rush said. He armed the few weapons _Destiny_ had. All five ships began to fire at the Wraith. Their weapons were no match for the Wraith.

"Scott," Rush said. "I need you to disconnect the FTL drive."

"What? I have no idea how to do that!" he responded.

"Take Eli with you! Hurry!" Rush yelled as he began to fiddle with the controls.

"We're going to sacrifice _Destiny_ to save the other ships," he said. "I've programmed a course for them to dive into the star. We should be enough of a diversion for the Wraith. We're the only life on any of the ships."

"Why do you want to disconnect the FTL drive?" Camile asked.

"The Wraith cannot get their hands on it," Rush said. "It's small enough to fit into the shuttle. We should be able to go along with it."

"I'll inform the crew," Camile said, and she ran off. The Wraith continued firing at _Destiny_. Its shields were holding.

"Rush this is Scott. We've removed the FTL drive. Where do you want it?"

"Take it to the shuttle," Rush said. The thirteen remaining people on the ship reached the shuttle at the same time. They all crammed in with the FTL drive. They launched the shuttle, and aimed it for the nearest ship. They weren't sure if they could catch it in time.

"Eli," Rush said. "Is the drive still working?"

"Yeah, but it doesn't have much power," he replied.

"I need you to activate it for about two seconds, and then shut it off," Rush said. Eli pressed a few buttons, and nothing happened.

"That should've worked!" he said. He tried again. The shuttle shuddered, and it jumped into FTL. Two seconds later they dropped out of FTL right above the hull of one of the other ships.

"Hang on!" Rush said. The shuttle made a rough landing on the ship. "Everybody out!" Rush said. He, Camile, and Eli boarded the ship, followed by Chloe and three others. Four people stayed on the shuttle. Slowly they pulled _Destiny's_ FTL drive out of the shuttle. Just then, a Wraith weapons blast hit the shuttle. The four inside were sucked into space. The airlock shut just in time to save Camile, Rush, Chloe, Eli, and three others along with the FTL drive. Young and four others They were all shocked. They ran up to the observation deck where they watched the _Destiny_ being destroyed.

The four ships dove into the corona of the star. They filled up their fuel tanks and jumped back into FTL…

On Earth:

"Why can't we just send a robot or something through the Gate. I mean, these missions are soooo boring," Vala said. Daniel nudged her. "What? She asked for ideas!"

"I didn't mean that kind of ideas. This planet is a key Lucian Alliance stronghold," Sam said.

"Perhaps…" Sam cut Teal'c off.

"Sorry Teal'c. You're all going," Sam said. "Get going!" SG-1 left the Briefing Room. The Gate began to dial. SG-1 put on the new Sodan Cloaking Devices.

"So these won't conjure up any extra dimensional parasites that turn furry woodland creatures into bloodthirsty monsters?" Vala asked, examining the device. The rest of the team glared at her. "What? You can't blame me for asking." The Gate activated. They walked through…

In orbit:

Several Hyperspace Windows opened, and a dozen Lucian Alliance ships entered orbit around Earth.

"Oh my God!" Sam said. "Rodney… Dammit he's off world. Jack!"

"What?" he said into his radio.

"I need you to do me a favor," Sam said.

"What is it now?" he said.

"You're the only person with ATA on the city right now," she said.

"And…?"

"And I need you to bring the city to the surface," she said. "Please…"

"Alright…fine," Jack said. "But I'm not fighting off a fleet of alien ships this time!"

"Well…that's kinda why the city needs to be on the surface. We detected a fleet of Lucian Alliance ships in orbit," Sam said.

"Oh for crying out loud Carter!" he said. "I'm retired."

"Do wanna see the Earth destroyed?"

"Well…when you put it that way." He went to the Chair Room, and the city slowly began to rise. When it reached the surface, its systems automatically targeted the fleet in orbit. The ships were launched from the city, and they engaged the enemy. Drones and Beam Weapons began to fire from Atlantis. The Lucian Alliance launched Gliders. The Tau'ri responded by launching their F-302's. The battle took place above Atlantis. Sam dialed the Gate.

"SG-1 this is Carter. You need to get back here now! We're being attacked by the Lucian Alliance."

"You see what happens when we leave for five minutes!" Daniel said. Teal'c raised one eyebrow. They dialed the Gate back to Atlantis. The Shield dropped, and they came back through. The city continued to fire at the Alliance ships. One by one they were destroyed by the powerful Ancient weapons. At the worst possible time, four ships dropped out of FTL. They had gone from one battle to another.

"Atlantis this is Rush come in."

"Rush?" Sam said.

"Have we arrived at a bad time?" he asked.

"You could say that," Sam said. "We'll try to cover you."

"Where do you want us to land? If we even can," Rush said.

"Will you all fit in Area 51?" Sam asked.

"I'm not sure," Rush responded.

"Try it anyway. Stay far away from the Pacific," Sam said.

"Alright," Rush said. He pressed a few buttons, and the four ships descended into the atmosphere. Thousands of people across the United States saw them landing in Area 51. Naturally, this caused mass hysteria and panic.

The last of the Lucian Alliance ships retreated into Hyperspace. Sam relaxed a little. Now it was time to start work on that Moon Base. SG-1 left for the Alliance planet again. They wouldn't be back for another two hours. Sam sat down at her desk and continued to work out how they were going to build a Gate Room at the bottom of the city. The five Tau'ri ships landed on the city, and Jack sunk it back down to the bottom of the ocean…

In Area 51:

"I have never seen anything like them!" Radek said as he inspected the ships. He had just been delivered a crate of Stargates and an FTL drive to begin experimentation on the new coordinate system, but this was more important for the moment.

"I think you'll like this Doctor," Eli said as he, Rush, Chloe, and Camile approached Zelenka with an FTL drive.

"That's two in one week!" Zelenka said.

"There's four more," Camile said, wiping her hands off.

"Where's the rest of the expedition team?" Radek asked. "I thought there were more of you."

"There were," Chloe said. "Most of them were killed when the Alliance got on board a second time, and the rest were killed in a battle with the Wraith. Only seven of us survived."

"The Wraith?" Zelenka was surprised.

"We stopped to refuel in Pegasus, and the Wratih detected us right away," Rush said.

"I'd imagine you would like a chance to rest," Zelenka said. The three nodded. "_Daedalus_, this is Radek. Seven to Beam directly to the Atlantis Gate Room."

"Right away," someone on board the ship said. The Asgard Beam surrounded them, and a moment later they were on Atlantis.

"Welcome home," Sam said.

"It's good to be back," Rush said.

"We've prepared quarters for you," Sam said. Eli, Chloe, Rush, and the remaining Expedition team left, but Camile stayed behind.

"General," she said. "I know this might be an odd request, but I don't want to go back to the IOA."

"Well," Sam said. "The IOA was dissolved about a month ago. The President has gone public with the Stargate Program, and this is the new home of the SGC." Camile was surprised.

"We can offer you a position on the new Moon Base," Sam said.

"You can do that?" Camile asked.

"I'm a General, and it just so happens that I'm in charge of all SGC personnel," Sam said.

"Wait a minute," Camile said. "Moon Base?"

"We're building a new defensive system on the Moon. Things have gotten worse with the Alliance," Sam said.

"I see," Camile said. "Thank you General." She left. Sam walked back into her office. She got back to her desk, and the Gate dialed.

"What now?" she said to herself.

"Receiving SG-1's IDC," Walter said from the Gate Room.

"They're back early," Sam said.

"The place is swarming with Lucian Alliance soldiers," John said on his radio.

"SG-5, SG-17, and SG-23 are being attacked by the Alliance," Cam said.

"Send a Jumper through!" Daniel said.  
>"Right away Sam said.<p>

"Why do we always get ourselves into these situations?" Cam asked. They continued to fire. Slowly, they backed up with the three SG teams toward the Gate. The Jumper decloaked and began to fire at the Alliance soldiers. They were surprised at the sudden appearance of the Jumper. They scrambled giving SG-1 time to get to the Gate. The other three teams made it through, but SG-1 was caught in a crossfire before they could get through the Gate.

"Atlantis, this is SG-1. We're cut off from the Gate!" Cam said into his radio. "Send backup if you can." The Gate shut off.

"Did they get our message?" Vala asked. Before anyone could respond, they were surrounded.

"Drop your weapons!" one of the Alliance soldiers said. SG-1 obeyed. They slowly put their weapons on the ground. The Alliance soldier pressed a button on his wrist, and they were Ringed up into a ship in orbit. They were taken to a prison cell and told to wait.

On Earth:

"Where's SG-1?" Sam asked the three teams that made it back.

"They were right behind us."

"SG-1 this is Carter," she said into her radio.

"General," John said. "Colonel Mitchell and his team were captured. The Alliance Ringed them up to a ship in orbit."

"Is there any chance of getting them out?" Sam asked.

"Not that we can tell," John replied. "Rodney's working on it."

"I'll have two more Jumpers sent through," Sam said.

"The Gate's too heavily guarded. They won't make it. Sheppard out." The Gate shut down.

Chloe was having a hard time dealing with Scott's death. She was in the mess hall eating a full meal for once. Eli sat down across from her. They sat there in silence for a while.

"My mom's gone," Eli said.

"I'm so sorry," Chloe said looking up. She put her hand over his.

"Her funeral was two days ago. If…If I'd just used the Communication Stones a week ago like I was planning to… I would've gotten to see her again. But we all got caught up in getting home. I figured she'd be here when I got back." They sat there together talking for several hours. Rush was sitting by himself, as usual, and there was no sight of Camile. Then, she came in, and sat down with Eli and Chloe. TJ wasn't far behind.

"We're starting a day care," TJ said.

"That's a great idea," Eli said. "But there aren't any kids on Atlantis right?"

"There's one," Camile said. "Teyla's son, Torren."

"You're starting a day care for one kid?" Chloe said.

"There will be more eventually once families start to live on the city. That's the plan right?" TJ said.

"I guess. We know as much as you," Eli said.

"It's strange," Chloe said. "Not being stuck on that rusty old ship anymore."

"Yeah it is, but it's good to be home," Camile said…

SG-1 was still trapped on the Lucian Alliance ship. A guard came into their cell.

"You," he pointed to Cam. "Come with me."

"And what if I don't want to?" Cam said, crossing his arms.

"Then you will watch all of your friends die!" the guard said.

"Just go," Daniel said. "It's not like that stuff ever works anyway."

"It's worth a shot," Cam replied, standing up. He followed the guard out of the cell. "So where are you taking me?" he asked. The guard didn't say a word.

"Oh c'mon," Cam said. "Just a hint?" He sighed and continued walking. They entered the bridge of the ship.

"Welcome Colonel Mitchell," a voice said from the chair where a Goa'uld would usually have sat. "My name is Sheryl."

"What the hell kinda name is that for a bad guy?" Cam asked. The guard hit him with a gun.

"Now now," Sheryl said. "We mustn't hurt him too badly. He needs to be able to talk. So tell me Colonel Mitchell, how do we lower the shield on the Earth Stargate?"

"You really think I'm going to tell you that?"

"No," Sheryl said. "But we have our methods of coercion. Send him back to his cell." The guard walked off with Cam. "Prepare the chamber," Sheryl said to one of her guards.

"Well…" Cam said after the guard shut the door to the cell. "That was interesting."

"What happened?" Daniel asked.

"There's a new Warlord in charge of the Lucian Alliance," Cam said. "Her name is Sheryl."

"What the hell kinda name is that?" Daniel asked.

"Indeed."

"My thoughts exactly," Cam said. "Anyway…" Vala cut him off.

"You said Sheryl? Don't let her name fool you. She's notorious at getting information from people. I wouldn't be surprised if she had us all spilling out Earth's secrets by the end of the day," Vala said. "She's a force to be reckoned with."

"Great," Daniel said. "So how do we get out?"

"I might still have a few tricks up my sleeve," Vala said.

"Oh dear," Daniel said. "What are you gonna do? Get into deeper shit than we already are?"

"Well. I'll try not to, but you know how these plans usually work out," Vala said.

On the Jumper:

"Rodney how's that plan coming?" John asked.

"Well there's about a one in fifty chance it'll work," Rodney said.  
>"Those are better odds than usual," Ronon said.<p>

"That's assuming we can get through the shields," Rodney said.

"And if we can't?" John asked.

"Then we'll…uh…improvise," Rodney said. "Should we try it?"

"Why not?" John said. "Decloaking the ship." The Jumper decloaked, and the Ha'tak began to fire weapons. Rodney converted the cloak into a shield, and John flew the Jumper straight toward the shields of the Ha'tak. They all cringed as the Jumper pierced the shields of Sheryl's ship. When they were through Rodney converted the shield back into a cloak, and they landed in the Glider bay.

"Piece of cake," John said.

"I didn't actually think that would work!" Rodney said.

"Yeah. Well that was the easy part," Ronon said, picking up a gun and handing it to Teyla.

"Sheryl wishes to see you again," the guard said as he walked back into the prison cell. He escorted Cam to another room where Sheryl was waiting.

"You know," she said. "This used to belong to a Goa'uld named Ba'al."

"Your point?" Cam asked.

"He was particularly fond of unique torture methods," she said. "Put your hand on that wall."

"What? Why?" Cam asked.

"Put your hand on that wall!" she yelled. Cam reluctantly placed his hand on the wall to his left. A restraint shot out of the wall and grabbed Mitchell's hand.

"Whenever you're ready to tell me your secrets, I won't be too far away," Sheryl said, stepping out of the room. She pressed a few buttons, and the gravity in the room adjusted, so the far wall became the floor, and Cam was let hanging there by one hand.

"This is fantastic," he said to himself. He hung there for at least 20 minutes. He heard scuffling outside and P90 fire. The gravity in the room adjusted to normal, and the restraint released.

"C'mon we gotta get out of here," Ronon said. Cam rubbed his hand and ran out of the room. John tossed him a gun.

"More guards are approaching," Teyla said.

"Which way to the prison cell?" John asked.

"This way," Cam said. The group ran off, but they were confronted by Sheryl.

"Isn't this cute!" she said. "You're trying to escape." They began to fire at her. She ducked out of the way and ran back to the bridge. The ship jolted, they had entered Hyperspace.

"Great!" John said. They entered the prison cell and freed Daniel, Vala, and Teal'c. They slowly made their way back to the Glider bay, stopping occasionally to hide from Alliance soldiers.

"We've gotta blow up the Hyperdrive," Rodney said.

"And how would that help us?" John asked.

"We blow up the Hyperdrive, take an Al'kesh and our Jumper. We put the Jumper in the Al'kesh and then fly back to the planet," Rodney said.

"That's crazy!" Vala said.

"Well we want to get off this ship before we get too far away from a Stargate right?" Rodney said persuasively. They tried to get to the Hyperdrive without being detected, but it was difficult.

"Okay Rodney, make this quick," John said. Rodney approached the Hyperdrive and planted C4 around the whole thing.

"That should do it," he said. They ran to the Glider bay. When they arrived, there were Alliance Soldiers everywhere.

"Uh oh," John said.

"Indeed."

John pulled a block of C4 out of his pocket.

"Hey!" Rodney said. "I thought we used all of that for the Hyperdrive." John threw the block toward the soldiers. They examined it. He pressed a button, and the block exploded. SG-1 entered the Glider bay and snuck into their invisible Jumper. Vala, Daniel, and Teal'c found a somewhat empty Al'kesh.

"This'll have to do," Vala said, stepping over the bodies of the soldiers they just killed. She sat down at the controls.

"Are you ready?" she said into her radio. "We're only going to get one shot at this."

"We're ready over here," John said from the Jumper. Vala lifted the Al'kesh of the floor. The soldiers began shooting at it. She opened the cargo door.

"We're on board," Cam said. Vala shut the door, and cloaked the Al'kesh. The Glider bay doors were shutting. They heard an explosion behind them, and the Ha'tak came to a sudden stop. This distracted the soldiers enough for SG-1 to escape. They exited the Ha'tak and jumped into Hyperspace.

Back on Earth, Radek was examining the hundreds of Stargates he'd been given. The two Seed Ships had been commanded to finish constructing all the Gates they currently had. Radek just didn't understand how the Ancients managed to Gate to the Moon at some point. He selected two of the Gates and sent each one to its own hangar. It was probably too short of a distance, but it was worth a shot. He left the hangar, and dialed the Gate using the remote. The Gate roared to life. He cautiously entered the hangar. The wormhole seemed stable. He picked up a rock and threw it through the Event Horizon.

"Wallace, this is Zelenka. I just threw a rock through the Gate. Did it make it?" Zelenka said into his radio.

"Oh yeah it's here," Dr. Wallace said. "You said a rock?"

"Yes?" Zelenka said.

"Well there's a puddle of goo on the floor over here," Wallace said.

"Okay, too short," Zelenka said. "We should probably try for a longer distance next time," he said into his radio. I'll call the _Hammond_ they can beam it aboard, and we can test it then."

"Sounds good," Wallace said.

"_Hammond _this is Zelenka," he said into his radio.

"Go ahead."

"We need you to beam a Stargate into the F-302 bay. It's been tagged."

"What exactly do you plan to do with this Stargate?"

"We're going to dial it from the surface."

"What?"

"I promise it won't explode."

"Alright Zelenka." The Asgard Beam locked onto the tagged Gate and beamed it onto the _Hammond_. Zelenka dialed the Gate and used the remote to fly a kino through. After passing through the Event Horizon the screen went black. He waited a moment. The screen was still black.

"Still not far enough," Zelenka said. "You can beam the Gate back down now." The Gate beamed back into the hangar. "I think our next attempt should be on the Moon," Zelenka said.

"Agreed," Wallace responded.

"Should we get started on all the other stuff these ships brought back?" Zelenka asked, walking toward the four massive ships.

"That should do it," Vala said as the Al'kesh dropped out of Hyperspace. There were several Ha'tak orbiting the planet.

"Great," John said. They climbed into the Jumper and flew out the Al'kesh undetected. The approached the planet and dialed the Gate.

"Atlantis this is SG-1. Raise the shield right after we come through," Cam said. He transmitted the IDC, and the shield dropped. They went through the Gate. The Alliance wasn't far behind. As soon as SG-1 made it through the shield went back up, and several soldiers hit it and were destroyed.

"Welcome back," Carter said.

"The Lucian Alliance has a new Warlord," Cam said. "Her name is Sheryl."

"Sheryl?" Sam asked.

"She was one of the most powerful Seconds under Kefflin," Vala said. "And now it looks like she's taken over. We've got to attack Lucia."

"We don't have the ability to do that," Sam said.

"Did we not just…acquire four extremely powerful Ancient ships?" Vala asked.

"Yes, but they're also extremely old," Sam said. "They need repairs, and we can't attack their homeworld with our five ships."

"Perhaps the Jaffa would be willing to assist," Teal'c said.

"Where has the High Council been moved to?" Sam asked.

"I am unsure of their exact location," Teal'c said.

"Try to contact them. We'll need their help," Sam said.

"As you wish General," Teal'c left.

"Zelenka hasn't made much progress on dialing the first-gen Gates," Sam said.

"Has he tried…" Daniel was cut off.

"His next test is going to be on the Moon, but someone will need to be on the moon to attempt to dial Earth. Daniel, Rodney, the _Hammond_ is ready to beam you up." The ship locked onto Daniel and Rodney and beamed them up.

"Hello again," Rodney said to Zelenka. "So what are we going to blow up this time?" Zelenka laughed.

"It's good to see you too Rodney," he said. "And you Dr. Jackson."

"Call me Daniel. Should we get started?" Daniel said.

"Yes… right. So far we've been able to dial the Gates to each other," Radek said. "But things we send through don't come out. At least not how we sent them in. Right now we think the problem is distance. Right now, we're headed for the Moon." The ship approached the Moon and set down on its surface.

"Wallace, this is Zelenka. Dial the Gate," he said into his radio.

"Dialing," Dr. Wallace responded. The Gate spun. When the seventh chevron locked, it activated. "I'm sending a recording device through." He tossed a kino through the Gate on his end. It came out looking completely normal on the other side.

"We did it!" Rodney said.

"Well not entirely," Radek said. "We can't dial back. We won't be sure where the Gate will connect to, and that could destabilize the wormhole."

"So we need to change the address of the Gate on Earth slightly, so this one can connect?" Daniel said.

"Yes," Radek said.

"Then why are we here?" Rodney asked.

"Well we're going to try to make a connection," Radek said. He selected the address, and the Gate began to spin. When the 7th chevron locked the Gate activated as usual. "Watch this." He sent his IDC.

"Why did you do that?" Daniel asked.

"In case it dialed Atlantis instead of Area 51," Zelenka responded. He threw the kino through. The signal the remote received confused it. It wasn't supposed to be receiving two different signals.

"The Gate split the recording device in half. One half went to Atlantis, and the other to Area 51," Rodney said.

"Yeah that's bad," Daniel said.

"Zelenka this is Carter. We just got half of one of those recording devices through the Gate," Sam said into her radio.

"Yes that was our first test dialing of the Gate from the Moon," Radek responded. "Rodney's working on a way to change the address of the Gate in Area 51. So far, he hasn't made much progress…"

"I'm working on it!" Rodney yelled from the background.

"Dr. Jackson is working on figuring out the symbols on the Gate. They're not what we're used to," Zelenka said.

"Keep up the good work Radek. Atlantis out."

"Hey. I think I've got something," Daniel said. "Each symbol on the Gate is a sort of a distance and direction measurement." He pulled out a piece of paper. He drew a cube with a point on each face. "Usually, each one of these points is a star, in this case, we could make each one of them a sort marker for the Gate to lock onto. That would prevent the wormhole from jumping. Just for extra security we could install six markers here on the Moon."

"That's…brilliant!" Radek said.

"Yeah, but we need to calibrate each marker to a specific Gate symbol. That could be difficult," Daniel said. "Hey Rodney…"

"Don't even ask," Rodney cut Daniel off. "This is harder than translating normal Gate symbols. These ones seem to be able to lock onto any six stars not a specific set for each Gate."

"Has the Ancient database from the FTL ships been transferred to Atlantis?" Daniel asked.

"I'm not sure," Zelenka said. "I certainly haven't gotten to it yet. Why?"

"We know the Ancients were able to dial the Moon at some point," Daniel said. "We're not sure how, but they did. There might be specs for the marker design in the database."

"Hey guys," Rodney said. "I think I have something…"


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

"General Carter," Teal'c said. "I have successfully contacted the Jaffa High Council. They have agreed to assist us."

"How many ships?" Sam said.

"They will send all ships capable of fighting," Teal'c said.

"Good. We'll send all of our forces," Sam said. "When?"

"We will assemble the fleet on the border of Lucian Alliance territory next Tuesday," Teal'c said.

"That's specific," Sam replied. "I'll prepare the ships_._" She gave the _Hammond _another day on the Moon for Rodney to figure out the Gate symbols. Daniel returned to Atlantis to examine the databases on the Ancient ships. He wasn't having much luck.

"Alright," Rodney said. "I think I've got this figured out. I've selected twelve possible symbols we should use. That means a bunch of possible arrangements of the markers. There's no way to know which ones we should use. I've got an idea, but there's no guarantee it'll work," he said into this radio.

"We should give it a shot. I think I'm onto something with the markers," Daniel said. "I've found reference to them, but I can't find a design yet. I'll let you know when I do." Daniel continued to talk to the interface on Atlantis. "Whoa…wait what was that?"

"Please restate," the computerized voice said.

"What were those designs for?" Daniel asked.

"Those are designs for devices that are no longer in used," the voice said.

"What was the purpose for that device?" Daniel asked.

"To allow short range dialing of Stargates. The project was abandoned due to inability to create a stabile wormhole," the voice said.

"I see," Daniel said. "Send the specs to the Control Room." Daniel left the interface room. He pulled up the specs on one of the screens. "Hey Rod, I've got something," Daniel said into the radio.

"What?" Rodney asked.

"I found the specs, and they should be easy enough to program," Daniel said.

"Great. Now if only we had any idea which six symbols to use," Rodney said. "I'm still trying to figure out what the symbols mean."

"I'm going to have the computer make us twelve of these things," Daniel said.

"Alright…whatever…go ahead. McKay out." Daniel used the Asgard construction system to make twelve of the markers.

"Okay, these are much more complicated that I thought," Daniel said, picking up one of the markers. An idea sprung into his head. It would take another two hours to finish making the markers.

"What was the mission of the Destiny Class ships?" Daniel asked the interface.

"To ascertain the true nature of the Universe," the interface said.

"And how were they meant to do that?" Daniel asked.

"Ten million years ago, the Alterrans noticed a pattern in the cosmic microwave background," the voice said. "They designed the Stargates to begin exploring the Universe. The Stargates did not have enough range. They build Stargate Seeding Ships with the ability to travel faster than light. They sent them out into the Universe to gather data, and to make a path of Stargates. The Gates would transmit information from the Seed Ships to the Destiny Class ships."

"Wait a minute. What pattern in the microwave background?" Daniel asked.

"The Alterrans believed it to be a sign of Intelligent Design," the voice said. "To their knowledge there was no species more advanced than them."

"Show me the pattern they found," Daniel said. The interface displayed a map of the Universe according to the Seed Ship records. It showed an intricate pattern that looked random to Daniel.

"And that is a pattern?" Daniel asked.

"Yes," the computer responded. "There is a code in an alien language that has never been encountered. Until now."

"What do you mean until now?" Daniel asked.

"The _Destiny_ discovered an Obelisk on a planet in an unnamed galaxy with markings in this language," the computer said.

"And that helps us how?" Daniel asked.

"There is now a reference to the language from which I can extrapolate the meaning of the pattern," the computer said.

"Okay good… wait, you just said 'I'," Daniel said. The visual representation of the computer looked Daniel in the eye.

"The computer can run all the translations in the world, but only you have the answers," the voice said.

"Morgan?" Daniel asked. "I thought you were…"

"She escaped. I have tried to track her but…" her image faded.

"It looks like she found you," Daniel said. He really had no idea what she was talking about. He analyzed the image in front of him. It snapped into view. "Oh my God," he said. "Show me a picture of the Universe ten million years ago. The image changed. It became clear. There was surely a pattern here. He compared what he saw now to the symbols. Still no match. "These obelisks," Daniel said. "There must be more of them."

"That is unknown," the computer said.

"How many Destiny Class ships were launched?" Daniel asked.

"Three," the computer said.

"And how many Seed Ships?" Daniel asked.

"Six," The computer responded.

"So where are the other three?" Daniel asked.

"Unknown."

"Sam!" Daniel said. "There are three more Ancient ships out there. We need to continue to follow the course of the Destiny Class ships."

"How long will that take?" Sam asked.

"Centuries, maybe even longer," Daniel said.

"We still have to deal with the Alliance," Sam said.

"I know," Daniel responded. "We'll make that a priority, but as soon as our war is over, we need to get back out there."

"Alright. We'll have a ship built," Sam said.

"It needs to go faster than the ones we currently have. Much faster," Daniel said. "We're talking faster than faster than light."

"I'm not sure how that's possible. Until now, we didn't think it was possible to travel faster than light through normal space," Sam said.

"Don't worry about it now," Daniel said. "I'll work with McKay to figure out the new Gates."

"Thanks Daniel," Sam said with a smile. Daniel was beamed up to the _Hammond_.

"Hey Rod," he said. "How's it going? I brought six markers."

"What? You found them?" Rodney sounded shocked.

"Well it wasn't that hard," Daniel said.

"So where have you been the last two hours?" McKay asked.

"Nothing really. Just figuring out the secrets to the Universe," Daniel said.

"Let me see one of those," Rodney reached for the markers. Daniel handed them over. "Well this shouldn't be too hard," he said, examining the marker.

"Really?" Daniel asked.

"No. I'm joking," Rodney said. "This could take days, but it should go a little quicker."

"Good," Daniel said. "I am going to get something to eat." He left, leaving Rodney by himself.

On a Lucian Alliance ship:

Sheryl and her Seconds were meeting about the Tau'ri threat.

"We know they're going to attack us. That much is obvious," Shomei said.

"What should we do about it?" Tima asked.

"Stop them of course," Sheryl said.

"Well how do you plan to do that?" Shomei asked, raising her voice.

"Perhaps we should all calm down and work this out together," Mirta said.

"Like that ever gets us anywhere," Shomei said. "I'm moving my ships to defend the border."

"Do you think that'll stop them?" Tima asked.

"I can try," Shomei responded.

"Your ships are not ships that we can't spare," Sheryl said. Shomei sat down.

"Any good ideas?" Sheryl asked. No one answered. "Alright then. I guess you're all useless then. Perhaps you'd have some better ideas if you worked on a kassa transport for the rest of your lives." She left.

On the Moon:

"Daniel! Daniel! I think I've got something!" Rodney said.

"Wha?" Daniel said his mouth half full of a sandwich.

"I know how to program the markers," Rodney said.

"That's good," Daniel said.

"Don't get excited or anything," Rodney said.

"Okay, so how do we do it?" Daniel said.

"Take a look at these buttons on the back," Rodney said.

"They look like the Gate symbols," Daniel said, examining the marker.

"Well sorta. They're programming symbols. Seven for each marker. That makes it possible to program each of the 36 symbols," Rodney said.

"36?" Daniel asked.

"These Gates have fewer than standard Gates," Rodney said.

"Right. So how exactly does this work?" Daniel asked.

"You press seven symbols in the correct order to program a Gate symbol into each marker," Rodney said.

"So that means we need to figure out what each symbol's magnitude and direction is, so we can focus the wormhole to a specific Gate," Daniel said. "Brilliant. How the hell do we do that?"

"I don't know," Rodney said. "We should probably use the time we have before the ship leaves to build a temporary Gate Room on the Moon's surface."

"Do we have time for that?" Daniel asked.

"I'm not sure, but do you really want to go into the heat of battle?" Rodney asked.

"That's not the point," Daniel said.

"Hey Daniel," Sam said into her radio.

"Go ahead."

"We're about to leave," Sam said.

"Alright. McKay and I are going to stay here. Hopefully by the time you get back, we'll have accomplished something," Daniel said.

"Alright," Sam said. "Good luck. Carter out."

"Sam wait," Daniel said. "Be safe."

"I will Daniel," she said. She turned off her radio.

"C'mon Rodney," Daniel said. "They're gonna beam us back to Atlantis and leave the Stargate here." The beam locked onto them, and they were back on Atlantis.

Sam was on her way to her quarters when Jack pulled her aside. "Hey you," he said.

"Jack…" Sam said. "I'm about to leave."

"That makes this all the more important," Jack said.

"Why don't we talk in private.

"Ok," he said. They stepped into Sam's quarters. They could see a massive school of fish swimming outside the shield.

"Beautiful aren't they?" Sam asked as she turned around, but she couldn't see Jack at first. He was on one knee in front of her.

"Samantha Carter," he said. "Will you marry me?" Sam was expecting it, but she still began to cry. A huge smile covered her face. Jack looked out the window. "They're not as beautiful as you," he said…

Sam kissed Jack as the Asgard beam locked onto her.

"That was interesting," he said. He left.

Rodney was surprised when he walked into his quarters. There were veils over the windows, and there were Lantean Rose petals on the floor. They were some of the only flowers he wasn't allergic to. He had no idea where anyone had found them. "Rodney…" came a voice from the bed.

"Hello there!" he said as he approached Jennifer. She smiled at him.

"I've been waiting all day for this," she said. Rodney ran his hand down her soft face as he looked into her beautiful eyes.

"She's the one," he thought to himself…


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Sam beamed onto the _Atlas_. She took command. All five ships launched. They didn't want to bring the city to the surface again. "Did you get those Jumpers on board?" Sam asked.

"Yes ma'am," John said. "We're all ready to go whenever you give the word." The five ships jumped into Hyperspace headed for the Lucian Alliance border. Teal'c was on the Jaffa ships, and they had also left.

"What have we got here?" Rush said.

"I've been using the Ancient database, and I found out about several more Ancient ships in the Universe," Daniel said.

"And?" Rush said.

"There were three more Seed Ships," Daniel said.

"We've got to find them!" Rush said.

"We will, but first we need to deal with the Lucian Alliance," Daniel said.

"Let me know when you make any progress," Rush said, leaving the room. Daniel continued to ask questions to the interface.

"Alright. Assuming the course of the Seed Ships was followed exactly, where would they be now?" Daniel asked.

"Unable to extrapolate location."

"Why?" Daniel asked.

"The coordinates are not inside this Universe."

"That's right. Now show me," Daniel said.

"Unable to process request."

"Damn. Can you show their coordinates relative to the known Universe?"

"No."

"C'mon!"

"Please restate the command."

"Show me the Universe." The interface obeyed the command. "Now what would happen if there was an object outside of the Universe?"

"That is not possible."

"Then where are those ships?"

"Unknown."

"No. They're beyond the edge of the Universe. There is something out there."

"There is no way of seeing beyond the edge."

"How far were the Seed Ships intended to go?"

"To the edge of the Universe, seeding Stargates along the way."

"So what would happen if the ships reached the edge of the Universe?"

"That is not possible."

"Then why were they programmed that way?"

"The Universe is constantly expanding. The Seed Ships would always be just short of the edge of the Universe."

"Then why are they not on the map."

"Unknown."

"Does the Universe expand faster than the speed of light?"

"No."

"Then, theoretically, it would be possible for a ship traveling FTL could go through the edge of the Universe."

"In theory that is correct."

"Then, based on that theory, show me where the ships would be." The interface displayed the locations of the ships. They were all outside the edge of the Galaxy. "That's why we couldn't recall them. They were too far away. "How long will it take for the Universe to expand beyond the locations of these ships?"

"10,000 years," the computer said.

"Great. Just great," Daniel said.

"Please…"

Daniel left the room. He found Eli. "I need help."

"With what?" Eli asked.

"Leaving the Universe," Daniel said.

"That's not possible," Eli said.

"Don't make me do this again," Daniel said. "It is possible, and the Ancients knew how to do it."

"They did?" Eli asked.

"They created ships that could travel faster than light," Daniel said.

"Well we knew _Destiny_'s mission was to find evidence of intelligent design, but we never knew its destination," Eli said.

"Let's go to the Seed Ships," Daniel said. "Rush this is Jackson, we're headed to Area 51."

"I'm on my way," Rush said.

"This could be a problem," Daniel said.

"What?" Eli asked.

"The rings can't get to us this far under water," Daniel said.

"Eli!" Chloe yelled as she ran into the room.

"What's wrong?" Eli asked.

"Nakai. They're coming!" she said.

"Nakai?" Eli asked.

"The aliens we encountered in the first Galaxy," Chloe said. "They know about Earth and Atlantis. They want the city."

"What's going on?" Daniel asked.

"We encountered a hostile alien race in the first Galaxy we went to on the _Destiny_. They abducted Chloe, and I guess they found out about earth," Rush said. "We need to protect the city."

"Unfortunately our only ability to do that left a few hours ago," Rodney said.

"The city can defend itself," Rush said.

"Yes, but not against a whole fleet," Rodney said.

"The Nakai ships have no known weakness, but perhaps there's some information about them in the Seed Ship database," Daniel said. He left.

"We should get the city on the surface of the ocean and cloak it," Rush said.

"Right away," Rodney said. He went to the Chair Room. The city shook and began to rise.

"Alright," Daniel said to the interface. "What information do you have about the… Nakai?"

"They are a species from this Galaxy." The map of the Universe focused in on one Galaxy.

"What is their technological level?" Daniel asked.

"They have powerful weapons and Hyperdrive technology," the interface said.

"How far away is the Nakai Galaxy from the Milky Way?"

"Three billion light years," the computer said.

"So assuming the Nakai have intergalactic Hyperdrives, how long would it take them to get here?" Daniel asked.

"A very long time," the interface said.

"Since when have you been sarcastic?" Daniel asked. The interface winked at him.

"McKay!" Daniel said.

"I'm a little busy right now," Rodney said from the Chair Room.

"Alright," Daniel said. "Delete any changes made to this system by Dr. McKay. Now tell me how long would it take them to get here?"

"Three days."

"What?" Daniel asked. "How is that possible?"

"The Nakai Hyperdrive is the fastest Hyperdrive that has been encountered."

"A ship traveling faster than light took almost three weeks to get here. How can a ship with only a Hyperdrive do it in three days?"

"Unknown."

"The ships should be detectable right?" Daniel asked.

"That is correct." The interface displayed 30 ships headed toward the Milky Way. Atlantis settled on the surface of the ocean. The city cloaked.

"Chloe," Daniel said into the radio. "Can you come up to the interface room?"

"Sure," Chloe said. She walked up to the interface room.

"What all do you know about the Nakai?" Daniel asked.

"They're fast," Chloe said. "The Hyperdrives on their ships are much faster than Asgard or Ancient Hyperdrives."

"They'll be here in three days," Daniel said.

"They can't go that fast," Chloe said.

"Somehow they are," Daniel said.

"Is there any way they could get their hands on an FTL drive?" Daniel asked.

"I'm not sure," Chloe said.

"Yeah… that's what worries me," Daniel said. "Why don't you take a turn on the interface? I need a break."

"Alright," Chloe said. She began talking to the interface.

"Hey Daniel," Vala said.

"What?" he asked.

"You're in a bad mood," she said.

"Yeah. You could say that," Daniel said.

"What's going on?" Vala asked.

"There is a hostile alien fleet on the way. They'll be here in three days," Daniel said.

"Then we better make the best of those days," Vala said.

"Vala," Daniel said. "Let's go!" They ran off to Daniel's quarters, hand in hand.

"Jack," Landry said walking out onto one of the viewing platforms.

"Hank!" Jack said. "You know. This retirement thing seems so much better now than it did the first time."

"I heard about you and Sam," Hank said.

"Word spreads quickly," Jack said.

"Well I just came to congratulate you," Hank said. He patted Jack on the back. "You know I would've been alright with it."

"With what?" Jack asked.

"You getting married to Carter sooner," Hank said.

"She was under my command. It would've been inappropriate." Landry smiled and left.

Teyla was in her quarters when the chime rang.

"Come in," she said.

"Have you heard what's going on?" Jennifer said as she walked in.

"No," Teyla said.

"A dangerous alien fleet is headed our way. They'll be here in three days. Ms. Wray and I are organizing battle drills. We need your help," Jennifer said. "You can leave Torren with Tamara Johansen. She's making sure all non essential personnel get off the planet."

"Are these enemies that dangerous?" Teyla asked.

"Yes. According to Dr. Rush," Jennifer said. Teyla picked up Torren, and she and Jennifer walked to the infirmary where Teyla left Torren with TJ.

"Dr. Keller," Camile said, approaching the pair. "We haven't met yet what's your name?" she asked Teyla.

"Teyla Emmagan," Teyla said.

"Nice to meet you," Camile said. "Rush programmed the computer to simulate a Nakai attack. The holographic projection system will create Nakai soldiers.

"They won't be able to harm anyone right?" Jennifer asked.

"Only simulated death. They will stun their targets who will then be regarded as casualties," Camile said.

"That's lovely," Jennifer said.

"Eli. This is Camile," she said into her radio. "Begin." The simulation started. The city simulated decloaking and raising the shield. Atlantis shook. "Go back to the infirmary Dr. Keller. You'll be needed there. You can come with me Teyla." The pair ran up to the Control Room.

"We've got 30 enemy ships all launching fighters. The shields aren't gonna hold," Rodney said. "I'm firing weapons." The Drones and beams fired from the city. They overwhelmed the Nakai ships, but the majority made it through.

"Launch the Jumpers!" Camile yelled. The simulation launched simulated Jumpers into the air. They destroyed as many Nakai fighters as they could.

"Shields are down!" Rodney yelled. The Nakai fighters began to land on the city.

"Defense teams, Nakai fighters have landed," Camile said. The Nakai mother ships stopped their assault. They began sending more and more fighters down. Rodney took advantage of this, and he began to fire the weapons. He was able to take out half of the remaining Nakai fleet. The simulated Nakai were now inside the city. They began to take down Human soldiers. They quickly made their way to the Command Center where they killed everyone there.

"Well that went well," Camile said after the simulation had finished. "What can we do to improve?"

"We could submerge the city again," Jennifer said.

"Perhaps locking doors to critical sections," Teyla suggested.

"No. I like Dr. Keller's idea. We're not sure how their ships perform under the surface of the ocean. We know our weapons work just as well," Camile said.

"I say we find a way to blow the hell out of them after they drop out of Hyperspace," Ronon said.

"Please," Vala said. "That almost never works."

"Submerge the city then?" Rodney asked.

"Yes. Dr. McKay. Do what you have to," Camile said. Rodney left.

"Chloe," Camile said. "Do they have any weaknesses?"

"Not that I can find. At least not their ships. If anything, aim for their heads," Chloe said.

"Alright we've got two days. Unfortunately the Lucian Alliance threat has our ships occupied. We need to get the new Ancient ships working," Camile said.

"What?" Daniel said.

"You heard me. How long will it take?" Camile asked.

"A hell of a lot longer than two days!" Daniel said. "They've been stripped of most of their systems. I doubt they'll make it off the ground!"

"Alright. We'll have to proceed without them. Dismissed," Camile said.

"Vala come with me. I wanna check something," Daniel said. They went into the interface room.

"C'mon Daniel. You've practically lived in there the past few days," Vala said. "Let's go do something fun."

"Yeah. In a minute," Daniel said. "Can you lie to me?" Daniel asked.

"What?" Vala asked. "Of course I can."

"I wasn't talking to you," Daniel said. He asked his question to the interface.

"No," the interface responded.

"Is this a simulation?" he asked.

"No."

"Really?" Daniel asked.

"Please restate request."

"Never mind," Daniel said. "C'mon let's go," he said to Vala.

"What should we do this time?" Vala asked.

"Hmm," Daniel smiled.

"Jaffa vessels. This is General Carter from Earth," Sam said.

"It is good to see you General Carter," Teal'c said.

"Indeed," Sam said, laughing a little. Teal'c smiled.

"Shall we proceed?" Teal'c asked.

"Yes," Carter said. The fleet of ships jumped into Hyperspace. They headed for a border colony to test the Alliance defenses.

"If you don't go out there and die for something, I'll kill you for nothing!" Sheryl said to Shomei. "Now you suck it up, and get out there to defend our planet!"

"Yes ma'am," Shomei said. Sheryl pulled out her knife and stabbed Shomei. Shomei writhed in pain. "What was that for?"

"You better not cheat me," Sheryl said. "Now take a walk off my knife." She pulled the knife out of Shomei who stumbled out of the room bleeding badly. "Oh does that hurt you? Walk it off!" Sheryl yelled throwing the knife at Shomei. She hit the floor, dead. Sheryl retrieved her knife as Shomei was dragged off.

"Tima," Sheryl said into her radio. "Are the ships in position?"

"Yes," they are.

"Now we wait," Sheryl said.

Back on Atlantis Daniel and Vala were spending as much time together as they could. Ronon and Teyla were practicing killing simulated Nakai.

"Chloe," Eli said uneasily.

"What is it Eli?" Chloe asked. The remaining crew members from the _Destiny_ were eating lunch together at the bottom of the ocean.

"It's weird not being on the _Destiny_ anymore," Eli said.

"I know what you mean," TJ said. "But I can say that I don't miss the food." Everyone laughed.

"What do you think is going to happen now?" Eli asked.

"Well," Camile said. "None of us are sure of that yet." She already knew she and TJ were being assigned to the Moon Base. She hadn't heard anything about Chloe or Eli. Rush would probably remain on Atlantis clashing with McKay and Jackson. She didn't want to be anywhere near that.

"I hear there are plans in the works for a new exploration ship," Chloe said. "Maybe you'll get assigned to that Eli."

"Yeah," he said. "But it wouldn't be the same without all of you." He smiled.

"You never told me what you wanted to do this time," Vala said.

"Reverse the gravity," Daniel said. He pressed a few buttons, and they were floating.

"Well I was not expecting this!" Vala said, embracing Daniel.

"Why are you all romantic all of sudden?" Vala asked.

"I'm finally with a woman I love," he said.

"You know, you're a really sweet person," she said. "Of course you're fantastically good looking too, but what's on the inside is more important than what's on the outside." Vala looked down. She held his face in her hands. "Well someone's excited."

"Vala," Daniel said. "We're naked and floating in the middle of the room. Can you blame me?"

"Well I guess not," Vala said smiling. Daniel ran his hand down her cheek. They kissed.

Rodney walked back to his quarters discouraged by the failure of the simulation. Jennifer wasn't in their quarters like she usually was.

"Jennifer, this is Rodney. Where are you?" he asked.

"I'm sorry," she said into her radio. "Ms. Wray and I are working on the next simulation."

"And why am I not helping?" Rodney asked.

"I don't know. She only wanted my help. I'll be down as soon as I can. I gotta go." The radio went silent.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

The Tau'ri and Jaffa ships dropped out of Hyperspace over a Lucian Alliance border colony. They were confronted by six Alliance ships. They quickly destroyed them and proceeded in securing the Stargate on the planet. They dialed Atlantis.

"Atlantis this is Carter," Sam said.

"Go ahead General," Camile said from the Control Room.

"We've started our attack on the Lucian Alliance. We're going to secure several key outposts along the border," Sam said.

"We have a little problem here General," Camile said. "There's a large alien fleet approaching Earth."

"That's a little problem?" Sam said, sounding worried.

"We're prepared to fight them," Jennifer said.

"How long until they get there?" Sam asked.

"Two days," Camile responded.

"Tomorrow, I'll come back to Earth on the _Atlas_. I'll bring the _Daedalus_ and the _Hammond_ as well," Sam said. "Carter out." The Tau'ri and Jaffa fleet proceeded to another colony. This one was more heavily defended. John and Cam led a group of Jumpers to attack the Alliance base on the surface of the planet.

On Atlantis another drill had started. The Nakai ships had trouble getting to the city this time. Their weapons could penetrate the water, but they didn't get anywhere near the city's shield. The Nakai launched fighters, and the city responded by launching Jumpers. The Nakai fighters made it to the city, but they couldn't get through the shields.

"It's working," Camile said. Rodney began to fire the city's weapons. He destroyed 12 Nakai ships, but then they found a weakness in the shields. They fired a consistent shot at the top of the shield. As a whole, the shield could stand up to their weapons, but when the Nakai focused on one point, the shields were penetrated. Water poured in through a hole in the top, the remaining shields collapsed in around the city. They protected the Control Tower, but the piers began to flood. The city shook.

"We're being boarded again!" Jennifer yelled from one of the consoles. "Dozens of them all over the city!"

"Weapons!" Camile shouted.

"Wait," Jennifer said.

"What is it?" Camile asked.

"I'm not reading their life signs anymore," Jennifer responded.

"Did they drown?" Camile asked.

"It looks like it," Jennifer said. She looked up and gasped. There was a Nakai fighter hovering outside. It began to fire at the city. "Get down!" The shield dropped and the glass began to crack. A Drone hit the fighter and destroyed it. The glass continued to crack.

"Everyone out!" Camile yelled. They all crammed into the transporter and exited near the Chair Room.

"Rodney seal the room!" Jennifer yelled. The door shut.

"Is it air tight?" Camile asked.

"Yes, but that's not a good thing," Rodney said. "We'll suffocate."

"It's better than drowning," Jennifer said.

"Good point," Rodney said. In the Gate Room, the glass shattered, and water began to pour in. The top of the tower separated from the rest of the city. Water flooded every room except the Chair Room. It began to leak in.

"Shut the vents!" Camile said. The air vents shut. Water was now pouring in. The simulation terminated.

"We weren't shot this time," Jennifer said.

"But let's not forget we still died!" Rodney said, standing up.

"We lasted longer," Camile said, noticing she wasn't wet anymore.

"Since when did the Lucian Alliance have ground turrets?" Sam asked as the shields were hit with weapons fire from the ground. The _Atlas_ returned fire. The turrets were protected with shields. The Jumpers approached the turret. They were too maneuverable for its blasts to hit them. The fired Drones at the shields.

"_Atlas_ this is Sheppard. We can't penetrate their shields," John said into the radio.

"Neither can we," Sam said. "Get back up here." The Jumpers returned from the ship, and _Atlas_ bombarded the surface with Asgard Beams and rail gun fire. The shields fell. The turret was destroyed. They used the DHD on the _Atlas_ to contact Atlantis. After being informed on how the latest drill ended, they jumped into Hyperspace with the rest of the fleet.

"You have gotten much better," Vala said to Daniel. He laughed. They missed the last drill, but no one seemed to care or notice for that matter.

"Now how are we gonna get the gravity back on," Daniel laughed. They tried swimming through the air causing both of them to burst out in laughter. The door chimed. "Shit…" Daniel muttered. "Just a minute!" he yelled.

"Oh please," Rodney said from outside. He opened the door. When he saw Daniel and Vala, he quickly turned around and walked out. "Sorry!" he said as the door shut. "I'll come back later." Daniel and Vala pushed off the ceiling. Daniel managed to reach the panel on the table. He slowly turned on the gravity. When their feet hit the floor, they quickly got dressed, kissed, and left.

"Rodney!" Daniel said, running to catch up to him. "What do you need?"

"Um…" Rodney seemed distracted. "Rush thinks he can unlock the city's entire database."

"Didn't we already do that?" Daniel asked.

"We only thought we did," Rodney said. "There's a massive portion of the database we can't access."

"And Rush knows how to access it," Daniel sounded skeptical.

"Didn't I just say that?" Rodney said.

"Yes, but…" Daniel was cut off.

"He's going to do whatever he did on _Destiny_ to the Atlantis database," Rodney said. "You missed the last drill by the way." Daniel raised his eyebrow. "Anyway, Rush is waiting in the Interface room," Rodney said.

"Thank-you," Daniel said. He left for the Interface.

"Dr. Jackson," Rush said. "I'm assuming McKay informed you about what I am about to attempt?"

"Yes he did," Daniel said. "Why am I here?"

"You know this system better than I do," Rush said. "I'm used to older Ancient technology. You were the one who figured out the ninth chevron could be dialed."

"Yes, but not using this. At least not directly," Daniel said.

"Just give it a go?" Rush said.

"Alright… what do I need to do?" Daniel asked.

"Just input these commands. The interface should unlock the database," Rush handed Daniel a piece of paper from his notebook. Daniel set it down on the pedestal. A backlight activated. The interfaced recognized the writing and input the commands. The database did not unlock.

"Why didn't anything happen?" Daniel asked.

"Please narrow the search parameters," the interface said.

"Why didn't the database unlock?" Daniel asked.

"That is not a valid question," the interface said.

"It's not working," Daniel said.

"I noticed that," Rush said. "Try this." He handed Daniel another piece of paper. The interface still didn't recognize it. "Over lap them," he said.

"I don't think that will help," Daniel said.

"Just try it," Rush said. Daniel did as he said. For a moment, nothing seemed to happen. Then, the database unlocked.

"That was easy," Daniel said. "And what brilliant piece of information do we have now?"

"We can make Zed-PM's," Rodney said walking in.

"That's absurd Rod," Daniel said.

"Show me the schematics for the Zed-PM's," Rodney said. A diagram appeared in the interface. "We don't know where we can make them yet," Rodney said. "But we're already working on a six Zed-PM interface system. They city's weapons and shields will be far more powerful."

"Or we could overload the city, and we'd all get electrocuted," Daniel said.

"Yes well we're working on that," Rodney said.

"Well why don't we include it in the next simulation?" Rush said.

"That… could actually work," Rodney said.

"Hey would you guys stop the simulations?" Jack said entering the Control Room.

"Gen…Ja…" Camile stammered.

"Call me Jack," he said.

"Alright, Jack," Camile said. "We need to prepare for the Nakai attack."

"We never ran simulations to prepare back in the day," Jack said, chuckling when he realized how long it had been since he first stepped through the Gate.

"You never faced an enemy like the Nakai," Camile said.

"Goa'uld, Ori, Replicators, Na… Whatever. All bad guys are the same. Cocky think they have the upper hand," Jack said. "You just need to find their weakness and exploit it."

"The Nakai don't have a weakness," Camile said. "At least not one we know."

"Oh they don't?" O'Neil said. "We are sitting in the most powerful…thing known to mankind, and you can't figure out their weakness?"

"I don't understand," Camile said.

"Fire the damn weapons," Jack said. "Use everything we've got. Don't let them kick our asses. If we are gonna die, we sure as hell better die fighting!" Camile smiled.

"Of course," she said.

"No get back in there and kick their simulated asses!" Jack said. Rodney programmed the new power levels into the simulator. The simulation began again. The newly found power allowed Rodney to fire more of the weapons at once while maintaining maximum shield strength. More of the Nakai ships were destroyed. Landry and Jack were watching the scene from one of the view platforms.

"Now that's what I remember!" Jack said. "You know, I really miss the old days." Landry chuckled.

"When's the wedding?" Hank asked.

"We don't know yet," Jack said. "She had to leave so suddenly." He seemed worried.

"She'll make it back," Hank said.

"I know that," Jack said. "I'm just worried about what happens after she gets back. I'm not so good at this marriage stuff."

"You'll do fine," Hank said. "Better than me." They both smiled.

The few remaining Nakai ships launched fighters. The ZPM's overloaded the city's power systems. Rodney had to stop firing the Beam Weapons to keep the shield up. Again, the Nakai focused their weapons fire at one point on the shields, but this time they could not penetrate them. Then, all six ZPM's suddenly exploded due to feedback. The shield dropped. Rodney began to bring the city to the surface. Atlantis slowly began to rise from the depths of the ocean. It began to rise faster and faster until the Control Tower breached the surface. He could now fire weapons again. Life support was shut off, and external air flooded in. He had the power he needed from the two remaining Naquadah Generators that hadn't been taken offline yet. He fired several drones which destroyed the Nakai mother ships. The fighters were still approaching the city, and there wasn't enough power to fire the weapons again. The city launched simulated Jumpers. They intercepted the Nakai fighters destroying many of them. However, about a dozen landed on the city. The creatures came on board. There were over 30 of them. They were wearing typical armor. The Tau'ri weapons were useless against them. However, they didn't respond well to Zats. One shot killed. The SGC personnel made quick work of the aliens. Five made it to the Control Room. They had everyone there at gunpoint. Vala snuck up behind them. She shot them, killing them all instantly. The simulation terminated. Everyone in the Control Room cheered.

"Now that's what I'm talking about!" Jack said.

"We drowned," Hank said.

"It was only simulated drowning," Jack said. "It's all going on up here." He pointed to his head.

"Hang on a minute," Daniel said examining the star map. "The Nakai ships aren't showing up anymore."

"What?" Camile said.

"Look," Daniel said. "They were five galaxies away from here. Now they just aren't there anymore."

"Is it possible they returned home?" Jennifer asked. The map zoomed out. There was no sign of the ships.

"The city was running a simulation to see how we would respond to a Nakai threat," Daniel said. "I knew something seemed strange from the moment I noticed them coming here," he said. "No ship can travel that fast. Even the Ancients couldn't build an FTL drive that could get a ship here in three days. It takes months, possibly years."

"Why didn't you say anything?" Camile asked.

"Well, when we first encountered the Goa'uld, their Hyperdrives seemed unimaginably advanced to us, and now here we are on a flying city from another galaxy," Daniel said. "I thought it might be possible for this species to be far more advanced that even the Ancients."

"So there's no threat to the city?" Chloe asked.

"Other than rioting Americans, no," Daniel said. The Stargate activated.

"We're on our way back," Sam said.

"Actually, Sam," Daniel said. "The Atlantis computer was just playing with our heads. There is no threat to Earth."

"You're absolutely sure?" Sam asked.

"Yes," Daniel said.

"We'll proceed to a larger Lucian Alliance colony then," Sam said. "Carter out."

"Ms. Wr…" Daniel turned around to ask Camile a question, but she was gone.

"You knew didn't you!" she yelled at Rush.

"Actually I just found out," Rush said.

"You could have at least told us!" she said.

"There's no way of stopping the simulation. These systems are far more advanced than _Destiny's_," he said.

"Really?" Wray said. "Then how were you able to unlock the database so easily?"

"The encryption system is very similar to _Destiny's_," Rush said. "The Ancients must've figured no one would ever crack it."

"Have you found some secret place where you can control the whole city?" Camile asked.

"Of course not. If I wanted control, I'd have it, but these people are far more qualified than I am at operating Atlantis," Rush said. Camile left without another word.

"Rodney," Jennifer whispered in his ear. He didn't even hear her come into the Chair Room.

"What!" he was startled.

"Let's go back to our quarters," she said.

"Vala told me it makes it better if we turn the gravity off," she said.

"You know I get queasy in zero gravity," Rodney said. "But…we can try it."

"Let's go," she grabbed his hand and pulled him out of the Chair. Rodney was surprised when he looked out a window. The city wasn't on the surface of the ocean. He stopped for a minute and then continued walking. That simulator really messed with his head.

"They've got an Ori ship!" Sam yelled as the shields were hit with an Ori beam. "Fire all weapons!" The Asgard beams fired. They bounced harmlessly off the Ori shields. The Tau'ri ships couldn't get a clear shot at the Ori ship. The Alliance had dispatched several Ha'tak to defend it and the colony below. They were shipping out kassa on transports as quickly as they could. The Jaffa destroyed each one as it attempted to jump into Hyperspace. Finally, after the Lucian Alliance Ha'tak were disabled, the _Atlas_ had a clear shot at the Ori ship. Before they could fire, it jumped into Hyperspace.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

By the time Sam and the rest of the fleet returned to Earth, repairs had begun on the Ancient ships. Not much progress had been made. It was a miracle all the ships made it back to Earth in one piece. All of the vital systems were being slowly extracted. The FTL drives and modules were being taken to a special shielded room due to their explosive nature. The hundreds of Stargates were being put into storage. A massive portion of the Seed Ships was energy cells capable of storing stellar matter. Several of these were taken to special labs to be studied further. The rest would eventually be used on the next Atlas Class ship. The plan was to call it _Aura_. It would be capable of refueling inside a star. It would be able to travel FTL if anyone could figure out how the drives actually worked. Zelenka emerged from one of the ships covered in black goo.

"What happened to you?" Sam asked.

"I was crawling around in the life support system," he wiped off his face. "It's a disaster in there."

"I bet," Sam said. "Anyway, we need to get these ships ready. The Lucian Alliance is probably going to attack."

"You're certain?" Zelenka asked.

"Atlantis' long range sensors detected a massive fleet assembling around Lucia," Sam said.

"How long do we have?" Zelenka asked.

"Four weeks," Sam said. "Their ships are slow. They'll take a while to get here, but we still need to be ready."

"We'll try, but these ships are in horrible condition," he said.

"General, this is Sheppard," John said into his radio.

"Go ahead," Sam said.

"We've got a problem here," he said.

"I'm on my way. Carter out," Sam said. She said goodbye to Zelenka, and the _Atlas_ beamed her to the city.

"Look at this," Daniel said, showing Sam one of the Control Room screens.

"Is that?" Sam asked.

"The President," Daniel said. "Yes."

"We must take Atlantis for the people of this country," the President said.

"Raise the shields, and arm the weapons," Sam said. "Lock down the Stargate and prepare the Puddle Jumpers." By the President's order, fighters were launched from every air force base in range of the city.

"Why is he doing this," Camile asked.

"The Trust," Daniel responded. "They've infiltrated the Government."

"We've known that for months," Camile said.

"Yes, but we didn't know how extensive the problem was," Daniel said. "Until now."

"We've got a bunch of 302's coming our way," John said. The _Atlas_ began to descend through the air toward the city. It launched 302's. A few moments later, there were explosions above the city. There had only been simulated battles of this magnitude in the past. No one ever assumed the President would send a squad of 302's to capture the city.

"_Atlas_," Sam said reluctantly. "I'm giving you permission to fire." The ship began to fire rail guns at the President's F-302's. They were divided like a school of fish being attacked by a shark. The planes from the coast approached the city.

"We've got more incoming," Daniel said. Bullets hit the shield along with blasts from the 302's.

"What's that?" Camile asked. Daniel was silent as soon as he realized what he was seeing.

"Daniel?" Camile said.

"It's a bomber," Daniel said.

"And that's a problem why?" Camile asked.

"Look at the radiation signature," Daniel said.

"Oh my God," Camile said. "It's carrying a nuclear bomb."

"Exactly," Daniel said. "It's a new Mark X Naquadah enhanced nuclear bomb."

"How much damage can it do?" Camile asked.

"Much more than we can handle," Daniel said.

"Will submerging the city help?" Camile asked.

"No," Daniel responded. "And besides, but we don't have enough power for that."

"Didn't we figure out how to make ZPM's?" Camile asked.

"Yes, but we still can't actually manufacture them," Daniel said. "We've got to do something about this plane, or we're all dead."

"We can't just destroy it though," Camile said.

"No. That would be bad," Daniel said. "It would kill everyone on the west coast immediately, and then who knows how far the radiation would spread."

"I think I've got an idea," Sam said.

The plane was approaching the city, ready to drop its payload. The _Atlas_ and the Puddle Jumpers were creating a blockade of sorts. The plane stayed on its course toward the city. The pilot knew he would die anyway, but he was serving his country. The public knew the Stargate had done nothing good for Earth. As he approached the target, the _Atlas_ attempted to capture the plane in the _Daedalus_ bay. The pilot detonated the bomb. Time seemed to freeze. An interdimentional rift opened just above the city. Daniel, Camile, and Sam were pulled through as Atlantis' shields fell. They didn't seem to go anywhere.

"What just happened?" Daniel asked. The city shook.

"We've gotta get out of here!" Sam said. The fiery explosion was rapidly expanding toward the city. They ran up to the Jumper Bay. There was only one left, and it was badly damaged. They climbed in. None of them had received ATA Therapy, but there seemed to be an interface system that would allow anyone to fly it. Sam sat down at the controls, and the Jumper flew away from the city. They watched as Atlantis was destroyed. The Jumper was able to outrun the explosion and achieve orbit.

"What's going on?" Camile asked.

"I'm not sure," Sam said.

"Is it possible that we traveled to an alternate timeline again?" Daniel asked.

"I guess," Sam said. "The Mark X hasn't been tested before." Within minutes, the entire population on the west coast of the United States was dead. There was a massive shockwave that flattened entire cities. The radiation that followed quickly killed any survivors. Sam, Camile, and Daniel watched the radiation spread across the globe.

"Great," Sam said. "Now there's no chance we'll get back."

"What if we used the Stargate?" Camile asked.

"It was just destroyed," Sam said.

"I meant the Gates from _Destiny_ and the Seed Ships," Camile said.

"I doubt there's anyone alive at Area 51," Daniel said. "But it's worth a shot." The Jumper landed in Area 51.

"The radiation levels aren't very high here," Sam said. "It should be safe for a little while."

The group stepped out of the Jumper. They headed straight for the Stargate warehouse. The tried dialing the Gates, but none of them were working.

"Is there anything else we can try?" Camile asked.

"SG-14 brought back a Quantum Mirror a few months ago," Sam said. "We could try that."

"We'd have no way of knowing where or when we would be going," Camile said. She was very aware of the dangers of Mirror travel. They began to search for the Mirror.

"I've got it," Daniel said. They began to switch through the images. Most of them looked the same. The Mirror was in a warehouse identical to the one they were standing in.

"Which one should we chose?" Camile asked. They could hear helicopters closing in on their position.

"Anywhere's better than here right?" Daniel said. They jumped through the Mirror. They came out in an identical warehouse. They turned around. The Mirror on the other side was destroyed in a massive explosion.

"Good thing we didn't stay," Sam said.

"So where are we?" Camile asked.

"Earth," Daniel said. "In a warehouse in area 51." Camile glared at him.

"An alternate dimension," Sam said. "We have no idea how 'far' we are from our own dimension if that one still exists."

"If?" Camile asked.

"We were taken out of it by an interdimentional rift. It's possible that it destroyed the entire Universe," Sam said.

"We need to get to Atlantis," Daniel said.

"How are we going to do that?" Camile asked.

"Let's try the Stargates first," Daniel said. They found the Gates from the Seed Ships. Daniel noticed two addresses on the remote.

"Are those?" Sam asked.

"Yep," Daniel said. "One goes to the Moon, the other goes to Atlantis." Daniel decided to dial the Gate on the Moon first.

"Unscheduled Earth Activation," the Gate Tech said from the other end of the wormhole. "Raising shield." The Gate's final chevron locked, and the wormhole opened.

"Receiving IDC," another tech said. "It's…General Carter." He was shocked, General Carter had died over a decade ago from his perspective.

"Lowering shield." The shield dropped, and Daniel, Camile, and Carter all stepped through. They found themselves at gunpoint.

"What's going on here?" Camile asked.

"Who are you?" the tech asked.

"I think that's obvious," Daniel said.

"You're supposed to be dead," TJ said, stepping out of a Transporter.

"What?" Sam said.

"A decade ago, the President of the United States launched an attack on Atlantis. A Mark X was detonated and it opened an interdimensional rift. You three were pulled in. No one ever found out why. Rodney managed to get the shield back up, and the city was safe, but we never found you. We tried the Quantum Mirror and a new Stargate dialing macro Eli made up, but nothing worked," TJ said.

"A decade ago?" Sam asked.

"Somehow you traveled forward through time," TJ said.

"Can't we just dial the Stargate through a solar flare to get us back?" Camile asked.

"Unfortunately, we can't," TJ said. "Come with me, and by the way, I'm a Major now." She smiled. They took the Transporter to a sensor room. "Take a look at this."

"What is it?" Sam asked.

"After the President attacked Atlantis, the world fell into chaos. We had to move the city to the Mariana Trench to protect it from the nuclear attacks. Some countries supported us, and others didn't including the United States," TJ said. "About five years ago, China and Russia attacked the United States. They destroyed Washington."

"That's horrible," Sam said.

"We helped them," TJ said. "It took seventeen Naquadah bombs to break through the shields around the White House. We used the _Destiny_ wipe the entire city off the face of the map."

"Why?" Daniel asked.

"You already know this, but the White House was taken over by the Goa'uld. We sided with anyone who could help us defeat them," she said. "We didn't. Russia fell about a year ago, and not much is left of China. We had to move Atlantis to Mars. It's terraforming the planet now. The rest of our ships are scouting the solar system for candidate comets to raise the temperature on Mars."

"All that in ten years?" Camile asked.

"Yeah, but there's more. General," TJ gestured for Sam to follow her. "It's good you showed up today, I'm not sure…" She paused. "I'm not sure how much longer he'll last." They entered the infirmary. Jack was lying in one of the beds. He tried to get up when he saw Sam, but he couldn't. She ran over and kissed him. They sat and talked for hours. Jack got Sam fully caught up on the last ten years while TJ went back to the Gate Room.

"We're detecting a ship on sensors," a tech said.

"Raise shields and arm weapons," John said, walking into the room. "It's good to see you guys again," he said hugging Daniel and Camile.

"It's the _Aura_," the tech said.

"McKay," John said into his radio. "Are you ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be. Do you remember the last time the _Aura_ attacked us?" Rodney responded from the Chair Room. The Atlas Class ship fired Ancient Beam weapons at the Lunar colony. The Nox shields held up well.

"Are those Nox shields?" Daniel asked.

"Oh right," TJ said. "I forgot to tell you. The Nox gave us one of their flying cities. We sort of gutted it to build this place. Their shields are some of the most powerful we've ever seen." The _Aura _fired again. Drones, Asgard, and Ancient Beams began to fire from the colony. The shields on the _Aura_ held.

"We've got a squadron of 401's headed our way," the tech said. The fighters began to fire at the colony. The weapons had little effect on the shields. Rodney continued to fire the weapons. Then, the _Atlas_ dropped out of Hyperspace. It began to fire at its sister ship. The _Aura_ diverted all power to shields, and once all of the fighters were safely on board, they returned to Earth.

"Does that happen often?" Camile asked.

"About every week or so," John said.

"General we've got a transmission from _Atlas_," the tech said.

"On screen," John said.

"That's the third time this month we've saved your…" Cam saw Daniel and Camile. "I thought you two were dead."

"Not exactly," Daniel said. "I'd hate to go through that again."

"Anyway," Cam said. "We're about to move to the very edge of the solar system, so we won't be able to detect any weapons activity. You'll be on your own."

"I think we can handle ourselves," John said. "Lunar colony out." The transmission terminated, and the _Atlas_ jumped back into Hyperspace. The Transporter activated. Vala stepped out and spotted Daniel. She ran up to him and jumped into his arms.

"I missed you so much," she said. "But I found… other ways to get by." She winked at John.

"Let's go make babies!" Vala said, jumping out of Daniel's arms. She dragged him to the Transporter.

"Alright," Camile said. "How the hell are we getting back?"

"I'm sorry," TJ said. "We have no idea. A solar flare won't be specific enough. We've tried it. Mars was on the opposite side of the Sun. We dialed through a very small flare, but then a CME erupted. It seemed to happen every time we tried. It had something to do with the high energy of a short wormhole."

"Is there any way around it?" Camile asked. "What about dialing another system. That's worked before."

"We tried, and for some reason, it just won't work," TJ said. "And, you've come at a really bad time."

"Why?" Camile asked.  
>"We're going to destroy Earth," Rodney said.<br>"What! You can't do that!" Camile shouted.

"Actually we can. We'll use the Nox engines on the back side of the Moon to get us in range to drop a Solar Matter Bomb into the planet's core," Rodney said.

"Solar Matter Bomb?" Camile asked.

"We used FTL collection technology to create a bomb. We've been collecting energy in the Sun. The _Daedalus_ is due back in less than hour. We'll cut a hole in the Earth's crust and then we'll drop the bomb in. Then we just jump to Hyperspace to avoid the massive explosion," TJ said.

"What about all the innocent people?" Camile asked.

"There aren't any innocent people. Almost the entire population has been given Goa'uld symbiotes to make them loyal," TJ said. "We're doing them a favor."

An hour later, a Hyperspace window opened over the Moon. The _Daedalus _carefully set the bomb onto the launch platform, and then they jumped back into Hyperspace towards Mars. The powerful Nox thrusters activated, and the Moon slowly began to drift toward Earth. Before the _Aura_ could respond, the Moon was within striking distance. From the surface, the Moon was nearly ten times its normal size. A powerful combination of Ancient and Asgard Beam Weapons fired at the surface. They made it to the core within seconds. The bomb was launched, and the entire Moon jumped into Hyperspace before anyone knew what was happening. The bomb fell toward the planet. It plunged into the core. An instant later there was a massive explosion, and the planet that had given rise to the Tau'ri was gone. The Moon dropped out of Hyperspace safely over Mars.

"Entering Mars orbit," the tech said.

"Any signs of Hyperspace activity?" John asked.

"None," the tech said.

"Good," TJ said. They watched as a strategically selected comet hit the northern pole of Mars. It released a cloud of CO2 into the Martian atmosphere.

"Lunar Colony, this is Atlantis," Teyla said from the surface. "We have successfully raised the mean temperature to negative 22 degrees Fahrenheit. It may increase or decrease slightly over the next few days, but we should begin planting the genetically altered vegetation."

"Go ahead Teyla," John said. Puddle Jumpers full of agricultural teams emerged from Atlantis. They spread out over the surface of Mars. They each landed in a selected spot. The teams emerged carrying saplings of genetically altered plants, bed to produce copious amounts of oxygen in the very cold environment.

"We're creating a new world," TJ said.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Ten more years passed, and there were several failed attempts to get Sam, Camile, and Daniel home. Daniel and Vala became happily married, and Sam was still trying to get over Jack's loss. Mars now had a thick atmosphere and several lakes of fresh water. The vegetation was growing wildly on the surface.

"General Carter," TJ said, entering Sam's quarters.  
>"Yes?" Sam said.<p>

"We have a plan," TJ said. They met Daniel and Camile in the Lunar Colony Control Room.

"This is a Nox Stargate. We found the specs in the database," TJ said. "We also found the specs for a memory device that can store patterns from the Gate. We should be able to store your patterns in there until we find a way to send you back."

"And how long will that be?" Daniel asked.

"I'm not sure. Decades or maybe even centuries, but I promise you, we will find a way," TJ said. A month later, they performed the first test on a plant. The Gate re-integrated the matter perfectly.

"Are you ready?" TJ said. The Gate was dialed to the memory device. The group said their goodbyes and stepped through.

10,000 years passed. A school group was touring the Ancient Lunar Colony when someone stumbled on the Stargate.

"What's this?" the student asked.

"That is a Stargate," the teacher said. "There aren't many left."

"What was it used for?" another student asked.

"Before the invention of the personal interplanetary transporter, these devices were used for a similar purpose," the teacher said. Then, the chevrons lit up, and the Gate began to spin. The group stepped back. The Stargate had detected a significant level of technology to send Sam, Daniel, and Camile back in time. The Gate activated, vaporizing some old storage units. The trio stepped out.

"Wh…who are you?" the teacher asked, gathering his students behind him.

"I'm General Samantha Carter," she said.

"Wha…You're really **the**__General Samantha Carter?" the teacher asked.

"Yes?" Sam said. "What's the year?"

"12,025," the students said in unison.

"What?" Daniel was shocked.

"I thought we were supposed to come back after only a few years when TJ found a solution," Camile said.

"TJ?" the teacher said. "Do you mean Tamara Johansen, mother of modern nursing?"

"Yes," Daniel said. "We need to go back in time 10,015 years."

"That's easy," the teacher said. "Come with me." He gestured for the group to follow his class back to Mars. They climbed into a very luxurious shuttle. They left the Lunar Colony and entered the cloud level of Mars. When they broke through, they saw a fantastic site. Mars was absolutely beautiful. It was covered with Atlantean, Asgard, and Nox buildings. There were lush forests and magnificent lakes. Daniel, Camile, and Sam were speechless. When they went into the Stargate there were a few patches of green and a small outcropping of Atlantean greenhouses about a kilometer from the city. They approached Atlantis. The city was still there after all these years. They entered what used to be the Jumper Bay.

"Welcome to Atlantis," the teacher said.

"You know I discovered this place right?" Daniel said.

"Of course," the teacher said. "You were a major part of ancient history."

"Ancient history?" Daniel said to himself. They walked into what used to be the Gate Room. The Stargate had been removed; in its place was a rotating ring on the ground.

"What's that?" Sam asked.

"It's the modern equivalent of the Stargate. It allows us to study history by witnessing it," the teacher said.

"Is that how you're getting us back to our own time?" Daniel asked.

"Yes, but you won't be able to change the timeline. You will only be observers," the teacher said.

"That's a problem," Daniel said. "The only reason we're here is a small, well actually rather large temporal anomaly."

"There is a built in security device that prevents anyone from altering the timeline. It could be detrimental to our society," the teacher. Daniel, Camile, and Sam looked at each other. They were all thinking the same thing. They knew what they had to do. That night they all snuck out of their quarters.

"Do you think you can eliminate the safety protocol on that?" Daniel asked.

"I think so," Sam said. "I think it works a lot like the Stargates except it transports you through time instead of space."  
>"Let's do it," Camile said. They snuck up to the Control Room. There was relatively no security at this time of night. Sam began to fiddle with the Temporal DHD as Daniel had named it earlier.<p>

"That should do it," Sam said. They ran down to the platform and dialed. The ring below them spun.

"Seven chevrons," Daniel said. "I wonder where they got that idea." The seventh chevron locked, and a bubble formed around them. An alarm went off, but before anyone could respond, they were whisked away. They found themselves standing under the Stargate on Atlantis. They spun around and saw themselves on the balcony debating what they should do about the plane with the nuclear weapon. They tried to communicate with their past selves. Nothing happened.

"I guess it didn't work," Sam said.

"Maybe we can try writing something," Camile said. They tried, nothing happened. They sat there for a moment, the plane got closer to Atlantis.

"Can we submerge the city?" the other Camile said.

"That won't do us any good," the other Daniel responded.

"I've got an idea," Sam said. "Daniel, you know that each symbol corresponds to a sound, so what if we dialed the Gate to form a specific message?"

"The chances of my other self realizing that are astronomically low, and besides we'd need to dial something like fifteen chevrons," Daniel said.

"We don't need to power the Gate," Sam said. They went with this idea. The younger Daniel on the balcony noticed the Gate turning.

"Fifteen symbols," he was confused. He began to work it out. He realized the message someone was sending him. "We need to beam the plane into space."

"That won't work," Sam said. "That plane is way too big, and besides, it isn't tagged."

"I think its massive radioactive signature is enough," Daniel said. A bubble surrounded the older Sam, Daniel, and Camile. They were taken back to the future where they saw the timeline breaking down. Atlantis stayed on Earth. Washington was never destroyed, and the bomb safely detonated thousands of miles away from Earth. It opened a small interdimensional rift, but nothing serious. It closed an instant later. The timeline degraded further. They were back in the future again. Things were falling apart. The past had been altered, and this future was being erased from the timeline. Then, everything went dark. That future was gone forever.

"That was weird," Daniel said.

"Yeah. How did you think to beam it into space," Sam said.

"I'm not sure," Daniel lied.

"We need to stop this before it goes any farther," Sam said. "John, Ronon, Teyla, and Rodney, report to the Jumper Bay." The group reported to the Jumper Bay. "Rodney," Sam said. "Can you scan for Goa'uld life signs from the Jumper?"

"I think so, but it might take a little while to set up," he responded.

"You've got an hour," Sam said. "You need to fly to Washington and use Symbiote Poison on any Goa'uld you find, no matter who it's in. Good luck." The group climbed into the Jumper, and they flew off. An hour later, they were approaching the city. It was heavily protected. Obviously the President was expecting an attack.

"You got a fix on those Symbiotes?" John asked.

"Ye…" Rodney paused. "They're everywhere. We don't have nearly enough Toxin for that."

"Can we improvise?" John asked.

"Not if we don't want to kill thousands of innocent people," Rodney said.

"Work something out quick Rodney. We've got some unwanted attention," John said. F-302's were rapidly approaching the Jumper. John fired Drones. The fighters were easily destroyed.

"Rodney…" John sounded tense.

"Just a second….Got it!" Rodney said. "The most dense concentration is in the White House." The Jumper banked left. One of the pods of Symbiote Poison dropped from the Puddle Jumper. As it hit the white building, a cloud of gas exploded from the pod.

"I am no longer reading Goa'uld life signs inside the White House," Rodney said. The Jumper eliminated six key targets that were infested with Goa'uld.

"That's all of them," Rodney said. The Jumper cloaked and flew back to Atlantis.

"We need to tell them," Camile said.

"Why?" TJ asked.

"They don't suspect a thing," Rush said.

"Camile's right," Chloe said.

"They won't react well," Eli said.

"Still, it's the right thing to do," Camile said.

"We need you guys in the Control Room," Cam said approaching their table. They stood up and followed Cam. They entered the Briefing Room where Daniel, Sam, Vala, and Teal'c were waiting for them.

"You probably know the reason we've called you here," Sam said.

"Great," Camile said to herself. "They know."

"The President's attack on Atlantis seems to have turned the American public against us," Sam said. Camile was slightly relived.

"Everyone thinks we're not defending them against 'evil aliens' like we should be," Daniel said.

"When Sheppard's team returns, we're going to hold a press conference in San Francisco to try to convince the public that we really are doing everything we say we are," Cam said.

"And you need us why?" Camile asked.

"Three of you are civilians, and all of you have field experience," Sam said.

"Alright," Camile said. "There's something we need to tell you."

"Don't," Rush whispered to her.

"We're not who you think we are," Camile said.

"Why does this always happen," Vala said.

"Indeed."

"My name is Cassiopeia," Camile said.

"I'm Drala," TJ said.

"My name is Asfrid," Chloe said.

"Mine is Lahar," Eli said.

"You're the four from the recordings," Daniel said.

"Yes, but we're not Ancient, Asgard, or Furling," Rush said.

"Wait," Daniel said. "There were only four of you in the recordings. Who are you supposed to be?"

"My name is Soter," Rush said.

"You're name isn't familiar," Daniel said.

"Anyway," Camile said. "We had to alter some events. There was only one Destiny Class ship sent out. The Ancients sent three Seed Ships ahead of the _Destiny_. The real _Destiny_ is still out there somewhere. They think the Communication Stones can't work at suck a long distance, but we've just been blocking their signal. We can't return them to you yet, but they'll find a way home soon."

"So who are you?" Daniel asked.

"You'll find that out soon enough," TJ said. There was a flash of light, and the entire _Destiny_ Expedition was gone along with the ships they brought home with them.

"We've got Young and Wray on the Stones," Walter said from the Control Room. Two majors walked into the Briefing Room.

"Why are we on Atlantis?" Camile said.

"It's been moved to Earth," Sam said. "The Lucian Alliance destroyed the original SGC, and the President was forced to go public with the Stargate Program."

"What's your status?" Sam asked.

"We just jumped to a new Galaxy," Young said. "We encountered a new alien race. They turned out to be peaceful after we worked out our initial disagreement."

"Anything interesting in the new Galaxy?" Sam asked.

"Rush picked up some odd energy signatures just after we dropped out of FTL," Rush said. "He hasn't said much more than that."

"Keep us posted," Sam said.

"Yes ma'am," Young said. Young and Camile returned to _Destiny_. Eli was waiting for them.

"Rush thinks he knows what the energy signatures are," Eli said.

"Does he?" Young was skeptical.

"Colonel Young," Rush said.

"Eli told me you found out what those energy signatures are coming from," Young said.

"Yes…right," Rush said. "The ship detected the signatures right after we entered this Galaxy. It wasn't able to identify them until we were in range of this solar system." A map appeared on the bridge screen.

"It looks like a normal solar system," Young said.

"That's what I thought at first, until the ship detected an identical system only a few light-years from here," Rush said.

"Artificial?" Young asked.

"No," Rush said. "I'm still not sure how, but there seem to be several identical solar systems in this region of space alone. Each system has a planet with a Stargate. The planets are the source of the energy."

"We'll send teams," Young said. Rush didn't tell Young that he found a way to use the Stargates on the planets to detect other planets beyond the sensor range of _Destiny_. There were 46 identical solar systems spread out across the Galaxy.

"A slingshot," Rush said to himself.

"What was that," Volker asked.

"What? Nothing," Rush said. Volker was suspicious, but he wouldn't tell Young just yet. Rush stared at the picture for a minute, and then he left the bridge. He joined Scott, Eli, and Greer. The Stargate dialed. They stepped through after the Gate activated.

"Exactly like I expected it," Rush said.

"What? Perfect?" Scott said.

"Well yes actually," Rush responded.

"Where is the energy coming from?" Scott asked.

"All around us," Eli said. "The whole planet is the energy source."

"That's not possible," Rush said. "The whole place would explode as soon as the Stargate was activated."

"Unless the energy is channeled through the Gate," Eli said.

"You are truly brilliant," Rush said, walking away.

"Wait," Eli said. "Why didn't you think of that?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Rush said.

"You know something don't you?" Scott asked.

"Not at all," Rush said, evading the question.

"Eli what's going on?" Chloe whispered.

"I don't know," Eli said. "Rush is hiding something." Rush had wandered off. He looked like a mime feeling the air as if there was something there.

"What's he doing?" Scott asked Eli.

"Why does everyone think I know these things?" Eli shouted. Rush turned around, but he tripped on a rock and fell. He was caught in mid air by some invisible force.

"Whoa…" Eli said.

"Will someone get me out of this?" Rush was annoyed. He knew exactly what was going on. The planet was certainly artificial. Everything they could see was a hologram. Someone could walk forever without finding a wall unless they knew exactly where to look. There was a small hidden structure on the surface of the planet. From it, someone could access the projection systems. Scott helped Rush get back on his feet.

"What's going on?" Chloe asked. Rush didn't answer. Instead, he placed his hand where the air had caught him. A door appeared out of nowhere and opened. He approached the door, but Scott stopped him.

"We're not going in," he said.

"Why not?" Rush asked. "For all we know, there could be a way to get us home in there." Cautiously they entered the structure. There was an elevator of sorts at the end of a short hall. They stepped inside. The language on the panels was completely unfamiliar.

"It's a code," Rush said.

"How do you know that?" Eli said.

"Ancient was derived from this language," Rush responded. "Actually every language we know was. This is the language of the Universe."

"What was that?" Scott said.

"Who ever built this planet…" Rush paused when he recognized a group of symbols. "Do you remember that artificial solar system we encountered?"

"Of course," Eli said. "Are you saying…" He was cut off.

"Yes," Rush said. "The aliens that built that solar system also made this one, but it looks like they came here much later. The language is slightly different, and their technology seems to have advanced slightly." He figured out the code. The language translated to Ancient. The elevator descended. When they reached the bottom floor, the doors hissed open. They stepped out.

"Where are we?" Chloe asked.

"The center of an artificial planet," Rush said.

"Remind me why we're down here?" Greer asked. Rush glared at him. Rush walked toward a control panel, but it would not allow him to access any information.

"Odd," he said.

"What is it?" Scott asked.

"The computer system put another code in place," Rush said. "I can't access any of the files."

"Maybe it deleted them all," Eli said.

"Or uploaded them," Rush said. The core began to shake.

"Alright that's enough," Scott said. "We're getting outta here." They got back into the elevator and it shot to the surface. When they exited, they noticed the holographic system was failing. They natural landscape was being replaced by an artificial grid. They weren't very far from the Stargate. The dialed. They ran through just as the planet was about to explode.

"Shut it down!" Rush said after the last person made it through. The Gate deactivated.

"What did you do?" Young asked.

"What are you talking about?" Eli asked. He seemed to be saying that a lot recently.

"We received a massive amount of information from the planet you were on," Young said. Rush tried to leave. "Not so fast. We're all going to go through it together."

"With all due respect Colonel, you're not qualified," Rush said.

"Well we'll just have to deal with that," Young said. "I don't want you to try to hide anything." They went to the bridge together. The computer was still trying to sift through the data.

"Well I guess now is the best time for this," Rush said. "I think I've found a way home."  
>"What?" Young was shocked. Everyone on the bridge dropped what they were doing.<p>

"These planets form a slingshot of sorts," Rush said. "We should be able to use them to send the ship home as long as we don't destroy any more of them." The entire crew was buzzing with excitement when they heard the news. Rush and Eli were busy in the bridge trying to figure out how to use the planets.

"Eli," Rush said. "Take a look at this planet."

"It's identical to the rest of them," Eli said.

"But it's not part of the slingshot," Rush said. "It isn't on the curve the other planets form."

"Are you saying it's some sort of control planet?" Eli asked.

"Exactly," Rush responded.

"How far away is it?" Eli asked.

"About a month," Rush said. Young informed the crew, and the ship jumped into FTL toward the planet.

"How far is this going to take us off the ship's course?" Volker asked.

"It isn't," Eli responded. "We're going where _Destiny_ wants us to. Rush thinks all these worlds were seeded by Stargates and then they were transformed into the slingshot by a very powerful alien race. They knew we were coming."


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

"Well," Daniel said. "How are we going to build a base on the Moon now?"

"What do you mean?" Cam asked.

"In case you didn't notice, all of the Stargates are gone," Daniel said. "We won't be able to dial to the Moon."

"We can use ships for now," Sam said. "Until the _Destiny_ comes home."

"You actually think they'll make it back?" Daniel said.

"Indeed," Teal'c said.

"The _Selene_ should be ready for deployment any day now," Sam said. "And the _Aura_ will be ready in less than a year."

Four weeks later…

"Take us out of Hyperspace," Sheryl said. The massive Lucian Alliance fleet dropped out of Hyperspace above Earth.

"We're dropping out of FTL," Volker said. The ship's supplies were low. They only had one shot to get this right.

"Dial the Control Planet," Young said. The Stargate began to spin.

"Unscheduled offworld activation!" Walter said.

"This is a Wraith strategy," Rodney said. "Dial the Stargate, so no one can leave." The two Stargates on opposite ends of the Universe spun in unison.

"Chevron one encoded," Walter said. The orb above the _Destiny_'s Stargate lit up. The Gates reversed direction. After the seventh chevron locked, the two Stargates activated simultaneously.

"Raise the shield," Sam said. "Arm weapons." The Lucian Alliance began to fire at Atlantis.

"Send the message," Young said. In a matter of moments, the _Destiny_ received instructions. The massive ship maneuvered into position on the slingshot.

Sheppard returned fire. The ships in orbit began to assault the Alliance. The Tau'ri ships were more powerful, but they were outnumbered 100 to one. Atlantis began to fire.

The slingshot powered up. Beams of energy connected the planets.

"Look at this," Eli said. "The Control Planet is… opening." The Control Planet opened to reveal an engine. Once the _Destiny_ was secure in the energy web, the planet appeared to stretch across the entire galaxy reaching the other side in an instant.

"What the hell…" Eli said. "Hold on!" The engine powered up, and the planet and the ship were pulled across the galaxy.

"What just happened?" Young said. "Was that it?"

"Nope," Eli said. When maximum tension was reached on the slingshot, it fired. _Destiny_ was propelled across the Universe.

"The Alliance has started targeting cities," Cam said.

"Continue firing," Sam said.

"We can't beat them," Collina said to Sheryl.

"What did you say?" Sheryl said angrily. She killed Collina. Her ship was hit. Sheryl quickly darted out of the bridge. She took a cargo ship. The remaining Alliance fleet followed her into Hyperspace.

"Where are we?" Young asked.

"Right where we expected," Eli responded.

"Inform the crew… that we were unsuccessful. We didn't know enough about the slingshot to use it properly, and we've been sent deeper into the Universe," Young said.

"You do realize they'll want to kill you right?" Camile said.

"What do you want me to do?" Young asked.

"Lie," Camile said. "I used to do it all the time in the IOA. Tell them we didn't use the slingshot correctly, but we're closer to home in a seeded galaxy."

"The Alliance ships are gone," Walter said.

"I wonder why," Sam said.

"It was Telford," John said entering the Control Room. "He sent the location of our allies' homeworlds to the Alliance ships."

"I thought he was in prison," Daniel said. "After the last incident with him, we made sure he couldn't contact them."

"He was implanted with this," Vala said walking into the room with a small transmitter chip in her hand. "It was implanted in his brainstem. Clever. Anyone who tried to remove it would inadvertently kill him."

"I regret to inform you we didn't make it all the way back to the Milky Way," Young said. Everyone was silent. They expected to make it home to see their friends and families in their own bodies. The Communication Stones would have to do for now.

"As I look down on this crew, there's no other place I'd rather be. It isn't the destination that matters," Young said. "It's the journey." The crew cheered. Young walked back to the Bridge with Camile.

"You did well," she said. Operations continued as normal. The crew didn't suspect a thing, but Camile knew they would find out eventually, and she didn't know what would happen when that time came.

Six months later, the _Aura_ was launched from Earth. It was on a very special mission to Earth's sun.

"This is probably some sort of record," Jack said. Sam laughed.

"I can honestly say I never planned to get married inside a star," she said. The ship entered the corona. The ceremony began. The _Destiny_ began its descent into a star. Its collectors lowered.

"Dearly beloved," Landry began.

"How long do you really think we can keep this up?" Rush asked.

"I do," Jack said.

"As long as we need to," Young said.

"I do," Sam said.

"Since when have you wanted to go home?" Young asked.

"I now pronounce you husband and wife," Landry said.

"I've always wanted to go home, but I realized this is far more important than that," Rush said.

"You may kiss the bride," Landry said. The two ships, billions of light-years apart, performed the same maneuver. They pulled out of their stars in unison, and jumped off into the blackness of space.

The End

***I hope you enjoyed this story. Stargate: The Fires of Hell, coming soon!***


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